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In Searchof the Ultimate Goal

of Life

Sri Sri Guru Gauranga Jayatah!

of Life

In Searchof the Ultimate Goal

His Divine GraceA. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada

D e d i c a t e d T o O u r

D i v i n e S p i r i t u a l M a s t e r

Viçvåcårya Nitya-lîlå-pravißta

Oµ Viß√upåda Paramahaµsa

Parama Parivråjakåcårya-varya

Aßtottara-çata Çrî Çrîmad Çrîla

A. C. Bhaktivedånta Svåmî

Prabhupåda

Inquiries, addressed to the secretaryof the publishers, are welcome:

Çri NarasiNgha CaitaNya Matha

P.O. Box 21, Çrî Rangapatna Karnataka - 571 438, India

e-mail: [email protected] site: http://www.gosai.com/chaitanya/

seNior editor: Trida√∂î Gosvåmî Çrî Çrîmad

Bhakti Gaurava Narasi∫gha Mahåråja

assoCiate editors: Çrîpåda Bhakti Bhåvana Viß√u Mahåråja

Çrîpåda Bhakti Vijñåna Giri Mahåråja

Assisted by numerous ever-aspiring servantsof Çrî Çrî Guru and Gaurå∫ga

First printing:1993 limited edition 1,000 copies

Second printing:1998 limited edition 2,000 copies

Third printing:2005 limited edition 2,000 copies

© Copyright 1993-2005 by Gosai PublishersAll Rights Reserved.

Printed bySrinivas Fine Arts (P) Ltd.

Bangalore, Indiafor the

Çri NarasiNgha CaitaNya Matha

Dedication

ContentsDedication v

About the Author xi

Introduction xv

Pra√åmas by the Author xx

Var√a and Åçrama Jeopardized 2Mother Nature’s Atom Bomb 3The Problem Remains the Same 4Perverted Castes 5Real Var√a and Åçrama 6Var√a and Åçrama Rejected 7Hodge-podge Impersonalism 10Educated Means Atheist 11Ça∫kara Astonished 13Absolute Truth is Personal 14No Clear Idea 14Accept Sannyåsa 16Go Higher 16Mixed Devotion 17Knowledge-free Devotion 19Hear From Self-realized Souls 20Spontaneous Love of Godhead 22Dåsya-Prema 24Sakhya-Prema 25Våtsalya-Prema 26Mådhurya-Prema 29Upstarts 31Mellow of Sweetness 33Quacks of Spiritual Science 34Attachment for Demigods 35Mahåmåyå and Yogamåyå 36

Perfect Questions and Answers 86Most Learned Fellow 88Fame 88All Are Not Equal 91Follow Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî 92Real Wealth 93Enlightening the Heart 97I Have One Doubt 99Lord Caitanya Revealed 102A Mine of Nectar 104Faith 107

Çrîla Prabhupåda-lîlå-smara√a-ma∫gala Stotram 109

Verse Index 119

The Name is Absolute 37Rasåbhåsa 38Not Possible to Reciprocate 38The Topmost Servitor 40Most Magnanimous 41Not For Ordinary People 42Distinguished Cowherd Girl 42The Search of Çrî K®ß√a 44By Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î’s Side 46Guru of Lord Caitanya 48True Student of Truth 50Beyond Var√a and Åçrama 52Who is an Åcårya 54Çikßå and Dîkßå 56Not a Vaiß√ava—Not a Guru 57V®ndåvana Eternal 59Cupid and the Kåma-Gåyatrî 60Hlådinî, Sandhinî, and Samvit 62Who is Topmost 63Qualities of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î 65Qualities of Çrî K®ß√a 68Topmost Love Affairs 69Positive Consciousness 71Deeper Happiness 74Great Mystery 75Surrender 77Imitators 78Rågånuga 80Changing the Body 81An Eternal Life of Ecstasy 82No Entrance for Lakßmî-devî 84

xiii

About the AuthorH is diviNe graCe A. C. Bhaktivedånta Svåmî Prabhupåda was a

rasika åcårya, an expert in relishing the mellows of pure devotion as taught by Çrî Caitanya Mahåprabhu. Such capacity to relish hearing and chanting about Godhead’s transcendental name, form, attributes, and pastimes is uncommon. The great Çrîmad Bhågavatam (6.14.5) informs us:

muktånåm api siddhånåµ nåråya√a-paråya√a˙

sudurlaba˙ praçåntåtmå ko†ißv api mahå-mune

Out of thousands of perfected souls, it is very rare to find one that is a pure devotee of God.

Perfection, or self-realization, is indeed a noteworthy accomplishment, yet it pales in comparison to unalloyed devotion. One need not fully surrender to God to achieve liberation from the flawed existence of material life. Any number of techniques may be employed in this attempt, but absolute humility of heart is not a requirement. Pure devotion, on the other hand, acknowledges no technique, while humility and absolute surrender are the stage on which the drama of divine love is eternally performed. His Divine Grace had such humility, such surrender, although he was at the same time often very demanding, insisting on a high standard from his disciples. Yet his assertiveness was all on behalf of Godhead and therefore justified. His assertiveness was an example of the dynamic face of humility, not an abstract, sterile humility, but the concrete and productive

xiv A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada xvIn Search of the ultimate goal of life

Çrîla Prabhupåda came to America in 1965 as ‘an aggressor.’ Aggression against illusion is the highest service to humanity. The cost of this war is absolute humility, for souls in this world are often less than thankful, unaware as they are of their own self-interest. The reward, however, is great. It is the dignity of the soul. This was the work of His Divine Grace—to bring dignity to all souls, and he did so with all of the humility at his command. It has been said that what Mohammed did with the sword, what Christianity did with wealth, he did with a humble heart—inundating the entire planet with love of God. The day will come when all men, women, and children from all races, countries, and creeds sing his praise.

For twelve years, beginning in 1965 until he disappeared from mortal vision in 1977, His Divine Grace circled the globe trans- planting what was thought by many to be an Indian religion onto foreign soil. He demonstrated practically that Gau∂îya Vaiß√avism is not a product of a particular culture, but the dharma of the soul. He took the living conception of what he called K®ß√a conscious-ness and extended its life beyond what the greatest Gau∂îya thinkers and practitioners of the time imagined was even remotely possible. Deep realization lies within the ability to adapt the spiritual reality to diverse material circumstances, making it accessible to one and all. This is the work of an åcårya, who teaches both by precept and example. The åcårya is not frozen in time. He is melted in love of Godhead, and flows without restriction to anyone and everyone who shows even the slightest interest in pure devotion. This was the work of His Divine Grace. He left a legacy of love, not law, for any and all of his immediate followers to embrace and continue. He gave to all, and looked for one—one who could actually understand his message.

Who was His Divine Grace? Founder-åcårya of the International Society for K®ß√a Consciousness, father, friend, and çaktyaveça

avatåra (empowered incarnation of a particular potency of God). nityånanda-aveça, the empowerment of Çrîpåda Nityånanda Prabhu, the Lord Himself in His most merciful disposition, can only describe what we could see of Him with the outer eye attuned to the spiritual mind. The inner truth of Çrîla Prabhupåda’s eternal form and per-sonality will forever remain concealed to those who fail to embrace not merely the form, but the substance of all that he taught and all that he exemplified. The darçana (spiritual revelation) of his inner identity is his prerogative. May His Divine Grace mercifully bestow that most precious vision upon all who read this book.

Svåmî B.V. Tripuråri

xvii

Introduction N searCh of the ultiMate goal of life was written by our Divine Guide and Master, Oµ Viß√upåda Paramahaµsa Parivråjakåcårya Aß†ottara-çata Çrî Çrîmad A. C. Bhaktivedånta Svåmî Prabhupåda just after his entering the renounced order of life in the autumn of 1959. At that time, Çrîla Prabhupåda was living in Çrî V®ndåvana-dhåma and would sometimes practice mådhukarî. Mådhukarî means to col-lect a little food door to door for one’s maintenance just as the bee collects a little pollen flower to flower. Çrîla Prabhupåda, however, often requested the householders whom he called upon to give pen and paper for his writing rather than the rice, dahl, and chapatis traditionally sought by holy men practicing mådhukarî.

On those papers that he received as alms, Çrîla Prabhupåda wrote page after page, preparing his messages of Godhead for the world. Some of the manuscripts he published in his Back to God-head magazine, and others, like Easy Journey to Other Planets, he printed as small booklets. Although unable to publish everything he wrote, Çrîla Prabhupåda nevertheless continued to write and stockpile his manuscripts. Unfortunately, some of the early writ-ings of His Divine Grace were lost after Çrîla Prabhupåda left Çrî V®ndåvana-dhåma to conduct his worldwide campaign of spreading K®ß√a consciousness.

In 1977, just on the eve of our Divine Master’s departure for the eternal abode of Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a, I found a handwritten manuscript at the bottom of an old metal trunk in the Rådhå-Dåmodara temple. The handwriting was easily recognizable as Çrîla Prabhupåda’s. After the disappearance of His Divine Grace, I carried the manuscript with me wherever I went, showing it to interested

I

xviii A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada xixIn Search of the ultimate goal of life

devotees. On several occasions, my godbrothers suggested that I publish the manuscript for wide-scale distribution.

The original manuscript of more than two hundred pages was entitled Lord Caitanya: His Sannyåsa and Sa∫kîrtana Movement. Unfortunately, 40 pages were missing from the middle section. For several years, we searched for those missing pages but were unable to find them. The manuscript was therefore divided into two parts. The first part describes Lord Caitanya’s traveling from Navadvîpa-dhåma to Jagannåtha Purî immediately after His accepting the sannyåsa order, the Lord’s visiting the temple of Kßiracorå Gopînåtha, the pastime of the Gopînåtha Deity stealing the offering of condensed milk to satisfy His pure devotee Çrîpåda Mådhavendra Purî, and the pastime of the Çakßi Gopåla Deity appearing as a witness to defeat the atheists. The second part of the manuscript describes the talks between Lord Caitanya and Råmånanda Råya when the two met on the banks of the river Godåvarî in South India.

In the second part of the manuscript, Çrîla Prabhupåda preaches very enthusiastically—discussing the var√åçrama system, chastis-ing the materialists, condemning the impersonalist conception, exposing the imitationists, praising the virtues and characteristics of pure devotion, and entering into confidential descriptions of the nature of råsa-tattva, the transcendental mellowness of spontaneous love of Godhead.

Because the talks between Lord Caitanya and Råmånanda Råya had already been published by His Divine Grace in The Teachings of Lord Caitanya and his Caitanya-caritåm®ta purports, we hesitated to publish the manuscript, thinking that Çrîla Prabhupåda had already published what he wanted to say on the subject. However, by the grace of Çrîla Prabhupåda, I was inspired to read the manuscript again and again until finally I realized that my beloved Gurudeva had expanded

on some very confidential points in his original manuscript, which he did not fully reveal in either The Teachings of Lord Caitanya or the Caitanya-caritåm®ta purports.

The style of Çrîla Prabhupåda’s writing in the manuscript is revealing. His Divine Grace makes his reader feel the urgency of K®ß√a consciousness, a remarkable ability, which so much characterized his eminent position as a world åcårya. Taking his readers to the realm of divine love, Çrîla Prabhupåda extensively and freely reveals mådhurya-prema—the amorous love affairs of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Her cowherd girlfriends with Çrî K®ß√a, the absolute King of Love, in the groves of V®ndåvana—as the topmost platform of spontaneous love of Godhead. Thus the manuscript not only illuminates Çrîla Prabhupåda’s position as a world åcårya, but reveals his position as an intimate associate of both Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu and Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a. Therefore, although I am a most fallen soul, I still felt strongly that it would greatly please Çrîla Prabhupåda if I were to publish the second part of the manuscript under a separate title, which he himself uses in the manuscript: In Search of the Ultimate Goal of Life.

The talks between Lord Caitanya and Råmånanda Råya constitute the acme of all theistic conceptions, and thus are held in the highest regard by all Gau∂îya Vaiß√ava åcåryas. The conversation between Lord Caitanya and Råmånanda Råya reveals the most esoteric truth about Vaiß√ava philosophy, allowing the reader to enter into the inner identity of the Lord and the purpose of His appearance. These talks are an important topic of Gau∂îya Vaiß√ava siddhånta for all aspiring devotees. Çrîla Prabhupåda’s writing on this topic just after his accepting sannyåsa is evidence of the special importance of these discussions for people in the renounced order of life. That he did not venture to publish it immediately is further evidence of the highly confidential and esoteric nature of this essay.

xx A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada xxiIn Search of the ultimate goal of life

Because the topic is a highly confidential subject matter, one may ask, “What is the need to publish it, thus making it available to even neophyte devotees?” The answer is that although Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu requested that Råmånanda Råya not disclose this topic but keep it a secret, Çrîla K®ß√a Dåsa Kaviråja Gosvåmî in his Caitanya-caritåm®ta openly reveals the details of the Lord’s talks with Råmånanda and encourages all the devotees to enter deeply into their inner meaning.

Çrîla Prabhupåda calls the discussions between Lord Caitanya and Råmånanda Råya In Search of the Ultimate Goal of Life and requests his readers to enter into the essence of transcendental romance and pure love of Godhead by sincerely hearing his humble narration. Therefore, we felt that if we did not publish this manu-script, the worldwide community of devotees would be deprived of a most valuable gift.

As far as possible, we have tried to present the words of His Divine Grace in such a way as to preserve the original, charming mood of the author, but the readers must take into account that at the time of writing his manuscript Çrîla Prabhupåda had very little formal training in English or extensive contact with English-speak-ing people. Actually, His Divine Grace has simply allowed the editors of this book to render some menial service to his lotus feet out of his unlimited mercy, so we earnestly request that the readers try to grasp the spirit of this book and kindly forgive any defects there may be in our attempt to present it.

The devotees who have surrendered at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu and desire only to become the servants of the maidservants of Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a will surely become enlivened by this publication. Others, who are not in the line of pure devotion, rüpånuga-bhajana, will not be able to understand the contents or the importance of this book. We humbly pray for the mercy of our Divine

Master and for the blessings of all the Vaiß√avas that we may always be engaged in the heartfelt service of Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu and His confidential associates as our life and soul.

Svåmî B.G. Narasi∫gha

He is the deliverer of Sårvabhauma Bha††åcårya

and King Pratåparudra, who were suffering from the pangs

of material renunciation and enjoyment respectively.

I offer my most sincere obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord of Lords

who superficially accepted the renounced life of a sannyåsî

to make the bråhma√a's curse effective.In the garb of a sannyåsî, He initiated

the transcendental ecstasy of spontaneous love of God as was felt by Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î

in Her amorous desire to meet Çrî K®ß√a. In the quest of such spontaneous love of God,

the Lord relinquished the association of His eternal consort Çrî Lakßmî Viß√upriyå-devî,

who was dearest to Him and whose mercy is most ardently sought after by all true devotees of God

and even by the denizens of heaven. The Lord accepted the renounced order of life in accordance with the foretelling inculcated

in the Mahåbhårata, the Vedas, and the Çrîmad Bhågavatam in order to bestow His causeless mercy upon us,

who are addicted to the false enjoyment of fame, glory, the opposite sex, and wealth

in this material world.

First of all, I beg to submit to the lotus feet of my spiritual master,

Oµ Viß√upåda Çrî Çrîmad Bhaktisiddhånta Sarasvatî Gosvåmî Mahåråja,

who has opened my spiritual vision and eradicated the darkness of ignorance

by his forceful message of the transcendental world. It is only by the mercy of His Divine Grace

that I have been able to remove the impersonal calamity.

I offer my most sincere obeisances unto the lotus feet of the Lord of Lords,

who is the protector of all surrendered souls. The Supreme Lord is always anxious to bestow upon us the fortune of unalloyed love of God,

untouched by such deviating processes as dry speculative empiric knowledge

or the unsatiated desire for fruitive activities meant only to acquire temporary material gains.

He is the supreme leader of the chain of disciplic succession in the line of Çrîla Ånanda Tîrtha.

He is worshiped by Çrî Çrîman Advaita Prabhu and Çrî Çrîman Haridåsa ˇhåkura,

who are incarnations of Mahå-Viß√u and Brahmå respectively.

He delivers His devotees, such as the bråhma√a leper Våsudeva,

from all ailments.

Pra√åmas by the Author

1

While oN tour of South India, Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu arrived on the banks of the river Godåvarî, where He met Çrî Råmånanda Råya, a great devotee of Çrî K®ß√a. Lord Caitanya expressed a deep desire to hear about Çrî K®ß√a from the lips of Råmånanda Råya and requested that Råmånanda recite a verse from the revealed scriptures concerning the ultimate goal of life. Råmånanda then replied:

sva-dharmåcara√e viß√u-bhakti haya

If a person performs the prescribed duties of his social position, he awakens his original K®ß√a consciousness.

Supporting his statement, Råmånanda then cited a verse from the Viß√u Purå√a (3.8.9):

var√åçramåcåravatå puruße√a para˙ pumånviß√ur årådhyate panthå nånyat tat-doßa-kåra√am

The Personality of Godhead Lord Viß√u is worshiped by the proper performance of prescribed duties in the system of var√a and åçrama. There is no other way to satisfy the Personality of Godhead. One must be situated in the institution of the four var√as and åçramas.”

2 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada 3In Search of the ultimate goal of life

Var√a and Åçrama Jeopardized

Hearing this statement from Råmånanda Råya, Lord Caitanya replied that the system of var√åçrama-dharma was external and thus it was not acceptable. Lord Caitanya also rejected the statement of Råmånanda because the system of var√åçrama-dharma is now jeopardized by the influence of the present age of Kali, the age of quarrel and fighting.

In the Bhagavad-gîtå, the Personality of Godhead declares that the var√åçrama system is created by Him, although He is aloof from such a system. Because the var√åçrama system is a creation of the Personality of Godhead, it is not possible to do away with it. However, the nefarious activities of the people of the age of Kali can jeopardize the var√åçrama system. We have purposely used the word jeopardized because the whole system still exists but in a reflected form.

In the var√åçrama system of social management, the aim of life is to attain the favor of Lord Viß√u, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead. Unfortunately, at the present moment the aim of life is to displease the all-pervading Godhead and thereby suffer perpetu-ally under the laws of material nature. The goal of the var√åçrama system is to peacefully perform the prescribed duties of humanity and thereby achieve the highest success, namely the favor of Lord Viß√u. But when the aim of life is the planned exploitation of material nature, all life is jeopardized on account of the human race fighting with the laws of nature.

The arrangement of nature is so strict that even a slight viola-tion of the laws of nature can do great harm to a conditioned human being. Human beings must always consider themselves to be living under the stringent laws of nature. They must always remember that their plans for breaking nature’s laws will bring about tremendous

hardship. Regrettably, human beings under the deluding influence of material nature want to lord it over the laws of nature, and, as such, they are more and more entangled in conditioned life. Foolish human beings do not see the defect of their so-called advancement of knowledge. The most difficult problems of life are birth, death, old age, and disease. These four problems are a permanent settlement for the conditioned soul. Human beings want to lord it over the laws of nature but their so-called advancement of scientific knowledge cannot solve these problems.

A continuous increase of world population to the proportion of three births in every second has puzzled the brains of the leaders of society. To solve the problem of birth, they put forward rascal plans of birth control under the name of family planning, yet the problem is unsolved. By the laws of nature, the population is ever-increasing in spite of all their scientific plans and schemes. On the whole, the problem of birth has remained unsolved.

Mother Nature’s Atom Bomb

The death problem is also not solved. None of the scientific knowledge of the human being has solved the death problem. The advancement of material knowledge can simply accelerate the problem of dying; nobody can save a person from the cruel hands of death. The discovery of the atom bomb and similar other great inventions of the fertile brain of the scientist has simply increased the death problem. The foolish scientists do not know that the atom bomb is actually the scheme of Mother Nature, who is sure to kill the demoniac popula-tion when it increases disproportionately.

Modern economists also believe in the laws of nature and confirm that unrestricted birth increases in the human population


will certainly result in famine, pestilence, epidemics, and war. So, the so-called civilized states’ plan of killing human beings by atomic and hydrogen bombs is actually the plan of Mother Nature to punish the foolish miscreants.

Everything is automatically executed by Mother Nature as soon as the human being is in violation of her laws. However, foolish people, out of their undue vanity, think that the plan is made by them. To execute her stringent punishment, Mother Nature dictates to the human brain the ability to invent the atomic bomb. Fool-ishly, the human being wants to take the credit for such inventions, which are meant only for punishment. We learn this fact from the Bhagavad-gîtå (3.27), wherein it is said that everything is done by prak®ti or Mother Nature. But the foolish living entity, puffed up by the vanity of learning, falsely considers himself the Creator.

The Problem Remains the Same

Without going further into the details of birth and death in terms of modernized scientific plans, it can safely be said that the problem of birth and death remains in its original proportion. Nothing has been done to increase or decrease the problem.

The problem of old age and disease is also not solved. The more the inventions of modernized science are made, the more relative diseases increase proportionately.

We can again conclude that birth, death, old age, and disease are the sum total of all the problems of material existence and can never be solved by any plan made by human beings. If a human being wants to solve all the problems of material existence, he must abide by the advice of Godhead that only by full surrender unto Him can one be saved from the stringent conditions of the material laws of nature.

Perverted Castes

The system of var√åçrama-dharma as mentioned in the scriptures aims at achieving the favor of Lord Viß√u. This is the only solu-tion to the problem of birth and death. The jeopardized system of var√åçrama-dharma has produced a perverted form, commonly known as the caste system. The caste system is now represented by the political diplomats, the soldiers, the capitalists, and the laborers. The politicians or the best planning brains of the human race have taken the position of bråhma√as. Surely the bråhma√a possesses the best brain for solving the problems of human life, but the politicians are simply using the best part of their brains for executing their own selfish plans. Avoiding the orders of the Supreme Godhead, they only bring disorder to the society.

The military arrangement is a false representation of the kßatriyas, who are meant to give protection to the public at large. However, the military leaders of every country are sucking the blood of the masses by imposing heavy, unbearable taxes, instead of giving any actual protection.

The capitalists, who represent vaiçyas, instead of accumulating wealth for carrying out the will of Lord Viß√u, are amassing huge wealth for their own sense gratification. As a result of this, many problems, such as political policies that exploit the masses, have sprung up in all parts of the world. The laborers are a perverted representation of the çüdras, who are serving the capitalists under the pressure of many obligations. They are always groaning to make an adjustment to the labor problem by raising political issues.

The system of var√åçrama-dharma has not been ostracized as some may wish, but the whole system has now been pervertedly represented by politicians in the position of bråhma√as; military men in the position of the kßatriyas; individual capitalists in the


position of the vaiçyas; and the ordinary laborers in the position of the çüdras. The whole system is perverted by the lawbreaking attitude of mankind. This is spoiling the atmosphere of peaceful progress in human life. At present, the system of perverted var√åçrama-dharma cannot in any way please the Supreme Godhead Viß√u. Thus no one can escape the police action of Mother Nature, regardless of how expert one may be in material science.

Real Var√a and Åçrama

The var√åçrama system, originated by the Personality of Godhead, is spiritually significant because when all the var√as and åçramas cooperate, society facilitates deliverance from the clutches of måyå or illusion. This is done by all var√as and åçramas carrying out the plan of Godhead. The bråhma√a is considered the mouth of the virå†-purußa (the cosmophysical feature of the Personality of Godhead). The kßatriyas are the arms, the vaiçyas are the stom-ach, and the çüdras are the legs. The functioning of the mouth is recognized by sound. Therefore, the function of the bråhma√as or sannyåsîs is to transmit the transcendental sound of the Vedas so that every human being can know what is what in relation to the Supreme. By transmission of transcendental sound, human beings will know their actual identities as superior in nature to matter. Thus they will know their eternal relationship with Godhead. Knowing this, they will be engaged in carrying out the plan of Godhead, instead of serving the deluding energy with a false no-tion of lording it over her. Carrying out the plan of Godhead will help the conditioned soul get out of the clutches of the deluding energy and enter into the kingdom of God for an eternal life of bliss and knowledge.

Every living being is struggling in this material world for eternal life, knowledge, and bliss, but is bewildered by the deluding energy. The plan of Godhead is so designed that in the human form of life one can get out of the entanglement of material existence. Because the kßatriyas are the arms of the virå†-purußa, it is their duty to protect the whole body and cooperate with the mouth, stomach, and legs. The system of var√åçrama is a spiritual plan of cooperation for mutual benefit, and therefore it is essential that it be maintained in its original dignity. As it stands now, it is perverted and diseased.

The so-called bråhma√as have become detached from the body of the virå†-purußa because they do not transmit the transcendental sounds of the Vedas. A head that is cut off from the body certainly cannot produce any sound. Such a dead head, although called a bråhma√a, has no real value as a head. Similarly, those bråhma√as who simply claim to be so by a custom of hereditary right also have no value as bråhma√as, because they have no power to function as the mouth of Godhead. In the same manner, whoever fails to carry out the plan of Godhead as part and parcel of the virå†-purußa must be considered fallen and detached from his position. Such separated parts are of no value as mouths, arms, stomachs, or legs.

Var√a and Åçrama Rejected

Thus Lord Caitanya rejected Råmånanda’s proposal, because in the age of Kali the var√åçrama-dharma is so degraded that any at-tempt to restore it to its original position will be hopeless. He also rejected var√åçrama-dharma because it has no value in relation to pure devotional service.

The second, more important consideration is that even if the var√åçrama system is observed strictly, it still cannot help one to


rise to the highest plane of transcendental service to Godhead. The virå†-purußa is a material conception of the Personality of Godhead and is just the beginning of spiritual realization. The topmost spiritual realization is attraction for devotional service to the Personality of Godhead. Such attraction for devotional service is the only necessity for the living being and it automatically brings a sense of detachment from all other activities.

The Personality of Godhead is worshiped by pure devotional service and He becomes available to His devotees through such devotion. Pure devotional service is produced by cultivation of pure knowledge and activities under the regulative principles of the scriptures. Thus the var√åçrama system is explained in relation to pure devotion by Bhagavån Purußa, the Personality of Godhead Çrî K®ß√a, who descended to this material world for the deliverance of all fallen souls. The Bhagavad-gîtå (18.45-46) states:

sve sve karma√y abhirata˙saµsiddhiµ labhate nara˙sva-karma-nirata˙ siddhiµ

yathå vindati tac ch®√u

yata˙ prav®ttir bhütånåµyena sarvam idaµ tatam

sva-karma√å tam abhyarcya siddhiµ vindati månava˙

Every human being will attain the highest goal of life simply by worshiping the Personality of Godhead, from whom all the living entities have come into being and by whom the whole cosmos is generated and again withdrawn.

Worshiping Godhead by prescribed duties is the beginning of devotional service, and all the great sages like Ta∫ka, Drami∂a, Bhåruci, Bodhåyana, Guhadeva, and Kapardi have approved of this system of gradual progress. All the ancient authorities have commented upon the Vedas in accordance with this principle. The au-thorities of the Råmånuja sect of Vaiß√avas also affirm the above:

The easiest way of attaining the Absolute Truth is to culture knowledge about the Absolute Truth as it is described in the scriptures while simultaneously per-forming one’s prescribed duty. This process is almost direct realization of the path of devotional service. Realization of the Absolute Truth by proper observance of the var√åçrama system does not mean to accept only the renounced order of life sannyåsa, but it means that everyone can attain the highest goal by the performance of his own duties. Proper performance does not necessarily mean to take sannyåsa.

Råmånanda Råya, after being asked by Lord Caitanya to define the highest standard of perfection in human life, had taken up the cause of ordinary people and supported the utility of var√åçrama-dharma by quoting the Viß√u Purå√a. He said that the performance of duties according to var√åçrama-dharma should be taken as the highest perfection of life.

Yet because the var√åçrama-dharma system is a problem within the material world in the age of Kali, Lord Caitanya wanted to distinguish it from the devotional activities, which are transcenden-tal by nature. Taking into consideration the transcendental nature of devotional service, which is the highest perfection of life, Lord Caitanya declared the system of var√åçrama-dharma to be external.


Lord Caitanya wanted human beings to make further advancement in the process of spiritual realization than what is possible by the performance of var√åçrama-dharma.

Although the aim of var√åçrama-dharma is to satisfy the all-pervading Godhead Viß√u, it does not explicitly mention devotional service rendered directly to the Personality of Godhead. Without being specifically engaged in devotional service, even the proper performance of var√åçrama-dharma may lead one to accept either the impersonal or personal feature of Godhead. Impersonal realiza-tion of the Absolute Truth will mar the progress of devotional service. Therefore, Lord Caitanya did not wish to risk the human life in that way, and thus He rejected var√åçrama-dharma as external.

Lord Caitanya’s rejection of the value of var√åçrama-dharma indicated that Råmånanda should suggest a more comprehensive process of self-realization.

Hodge-podge Impersonalism

Taking the hint from Lord Caitanya, Råmånanda Råya quoted a verse from the Bhagavad-gîtå (9.27) about the process of dedicating all one’s karma (fruitive actions) to Çrî K®ß√a, the Personality of Godhead.

yat karoßi yad açnåsiyaj juhoßi dadåsi yat

yat tapasyasi kaunteyayat kurußva mad-arpa√am

O son of Kuntî, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer or give away, as well as all austerities that you perform, do as an offering unto Me.

To give and take means one person giving and another person receiving. This distinct feature of dealings between the living entity and the Personality of Godhead is a more clear conception of ones proper relationship with the Absolute Truth than that which is found in var√åçrama-dharma.

The present age of Kali is almost fully surcharged with the imperfect idea of the Absolute Truth being impersonal. The Måyåvåda school has chiefly fathered this impersonal idea of the Absolute Truth by systematic propaganda since the time of Çrîpåda Ça∫karåcårya. People of demoniac nature, who are now flourishing in all parts of the world, have relished this hodge-podge impersonal idea of the Absolute Truth for their own less than spiritual purposes.

The materialistic people of the world are practically all atheistic and immoral due to the infectious conditions of Kali-yuga. The Kali-yuga is predominated by illegitimate connection with the opposite sex, killing of animals, intoxication, and gambling. The materialists are almost all notorious for all these kinds of nefarious works in spite of their so-called education and knowledge. They are, in the language of the Bhagavad-gîtå, dußk®tina, qualified in the wrong way. When a human being’s activity is targeted towards self-realization, it is right activity. Wrong activity means entangling oneself more and more in the conditions of material nature. K®ti means one who is qualified and duß means the wrong way. So the combined word dußk®tina means one who is qualified in the wrong way.

Educated Means Atheist

The advancement of material education has produced many graduates, postgraduates, professors, and many other so-called enlightened people in this age of Kali, but most of them are being wrongly


educated. The result is that the more people are educated, the more they become immoral and atheistic. Moreover, wrongly educated people have practically no faith in the scriptural injunctions. They have no respect for the self-realized sages who have left behind many valuable literary works, which are considered the treasure chest of spiritual cultivation.

To further misguide these wrongly qualified persons, the påßa√∂îs or atheists in the garb of spiritual instructors encourage them in the wrong method of livelihood. This has been predicted in the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (12.4.43-44). Çukadeva Gosvåmî addressed King Parîkßit, “O my King, in the age of Kali, almost all the people who are destined to die do not worship the Absolute Personality of Godhead who is the Lord of the universe and is respectfully obeyed by all the demigods such as Brahmå, Mahådeva, Indra, and others. Unfortunately, the people in the age of Kali worship påßa√∂îs, who misrepresent the teachings of the Vedas by atheistic culture. These people, infected by the sinful activities of Kali, do not worship the Personality of Godhead, the remembrance of whose name only—even by a dying person, a person in trouble, or a person who has fallen down—can deliver all from distress and sin, and lift them to the highest goal of life.”

The påßa√∂îs have most successfully misdirected the so-called enlightened people of Kali-yuga. They have successfully produced or manufactured many avatåras or incarnations of Godhead of their own choice without any reference to the çåstras (scriptures) and propagated the false idea of impersonal liberation as the highest achievement in life.

Ça∫kara Astonished

These impersonalists of the present age declare themselves to be the followers of Çrîpåda Ça∫karåcårya, but even if Ça∫karåcårya himself happened to appear, he would be astonished to see his so-called fol-lowers. In fact, these impersonalists are all atheists and materialists. They have nothing to do either with the actual brahmavåda school of Ça∫karåcårya or with the bhågavata sampradåya represented by the Vaiß√ava åcåryas.

The impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth, propounded by the so-called brahmavåda school, falls short of spiritual progress from its first step. Ça∫karåcårya’s impersonal conception of brah-mavåda had some meaning because he emphasized renouncing material activities. His ideal example of renunciation, as personally practiced and taught by him, has great significance for the demoniac people of the age of Kali, but the present impersonalists do not follow Ça∫karåcårya or the çåstra. They do, however, preach something that is not only absurd from all spiritual points of view, but is the start of material enjoyment, which they try to cover with the red garments of renunciation. These so-called followers of Çrîpåda Ça∫karåcårya are condemned by Ça∫karåcårya himself, because they have taken the red dress simply for the matter of filling their bellies.

The atheistic impersonalists have done tremendous harm to the potential for spiritual advancement of the people in general. Therefore, the impersonalists have become the principal target of reformation for the peaceful sa∫kîrtana movement of Lord Caitanya.


Absolute Truth is Personal

The Absolute Truth is ultimately a person who is supreme and all-powerful. He is called Purußottama. Impersonal Brahman is the effulgence of His personal body and localized Paramåtmå or the Supersoul is His plenary part. That is the verdict of all the çåstras, especially the Bhagavad-gîtå, Çrîmad Bhågavatam, and all other allied transcendental literatures. The whole sa∫kîrtana movement of Lord Caitanya is aimed at giving importance to the Personality of Godhead and His transcendental service. As such, Lord Caitanya always regarded the impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth as detrimental to the path of devotional activities. He considered the system of var√åçrama-dharma to be external because even if var√åçrama-dharma is properly carried out, one still cannot get a clear conception of the Personality of Godhead.

Råmånanda’s suggestion of the çloka from the Bhagavad-gîtå about offering everything to K®ß√a definitely advances the conception of the Personality of Godhead, but still the practice of this conception is not fully transcendental. Thus the var√åçrama-dharma concep-tion can hardly help to raise the practitioner to the transcendental spiritual plane. Lord Caitanya thus rejected this material conception of the Personality of Godhead and called it external.

No Clear Idea

The grossly materialistic people cannot understand how it is possible to give away the result of one’s own work. It is impossible for grossly materialistic people to part with their earnings that are made by their personal effort. Such gross materialists can simply get information

from the suggestion that they have to give away the result of their personal labor to the Personality of Godhead. But because they do not have a clear idea of the Personality of Godhead or the process of giving the result of their earnings to the Personality of Godhead, it is very difficult for them to practice this conception.

When Lord Caitanya rejected Råmånanda Råya’s second suggestion of directly offering the fruits of one’s actions to God rather than indirectly through the var√åçrama system, Råmånanda then made a third suggestion. He proposed that ordinary people, who are fully engaged in the act of earning and enjoying, improve their life by giving up the process of continuing to live in the ma-terial world while offering the fruits of their labor to God. On the basis of this improved idea, Råmånanda quoted a çloka from Çrîmad Bhågavatam (11.11.32):

åjñåyaivaµ gu√ån doßånmayådiß†ån api svakån

dharmån saµtyajya ya˙ sarvån måµ bhajet sa ca sattama˙

In this çloka, the Personality of Godhead says, “Occupational duties are described in the religious scriptures. If one analyzes them, one can fully understand their qualities and faults and then give them up completely to render service unto Me. Such a person is accepted as a saint of the highest order.”

This conception is based on the fact that ultimately the acceptance of the devotional service of Godhead is the highest aim of religious perfection. By performing religious duties, if we can reach pure devotion, we may be considered first-class sådhus or saints.


Accept Sannyåsa

Råmånanda suggested that we give up practicing the rules of var√åçrama-dharma and take sannyåsa. Acceptance of sannyåsa means to renounce materialistic life, and in doing so one has to engage fully in the devotional service of Godhead. In support of this idea, Råmånanda quoted the above çloka from Çrîmad Bhåg-avatam. He also supported his suggestion with another çloka from the Bhagavad-gîtå (18.66):

sarva-dharmån parityajyamåm ekaµ çara√aµ vraja

ahaµ tvåµ sarva-påpebhyo mokßayißyåmi må çuca˙

Here, the Personality of Godhead desires that everyone give up all other religious considerations and engage wholly and solely in following Him exclusively. “I will protect you from all difficulties arising out of renouncing all other engagements. You have nothing to fear.”

Go Higher

An improved consciousness for the materialists is a desire to either retire from material activities or stay at a place that is undisturbed by the uproar of the modes of nature. The river Virajå is outside the boundary of the material world where there is no disturbance from the three modes of nature. The material world is the creation of the external energy of Godhead, and Vaiku√†ha, the spiritual world, is the creation of the internal energy of Godhead. Virajå is situated between the material world and the spiritual world. It is outside the boundary

of both the material and the spiritual world. However, renunciation without any positive engagement is imperfect and cannot give the candidate the desired result of love of God.

The aim of Lord Caitanya is to bring people to the spiritual world. Therefore, this suggestion of Råmånanda, which does not take one within the boundary of Vaiku√†ha, was also rejected by the Lord. Negating the material activities or becoming disinterested in material activities does not suggest accepting positive spiritual activities. Spiritual activities completely depend on spiritual under-standing. People having no realization of the spiritual world cannot sustain themselves by giving up all other activities. One must have a positive transcendental engagement. Otherwise, simply negating the material activities of religiosity will not help one the slightest bit in spiritual realization. By such renunciation, one will simply feed a void in his life and will again be attracted by the material activi-ties for want of actual spiritual engagements. This sort of spiritual realization is another type of impersonal conception and is therefore not ultimately suitable for the prospective devotee.

Mixed Devotion

Råmånanda, having realized the desire of Lord Caitanya, then suggested an improved process, called calculated devotion (jñåna-miçra-bhakti). Driven by a false sense of oneness with the Absolute Truth, the empiric philosopher tries to make an analytical study of the cosmic situation to find out the Absolute Truth. When he has done so, he becomes cheerful on account of his self-realization.

The symptoms of perfect realization of the Absolute Truth, which promote one to the stage of pure devotional service to the Personality of Godhead, are described in the Bhagavad-gîtå (18.54).


This was quoted by Råmånanda as a further improvement on the suggestion of renunciation of karma:

brahma-bhüta˙ prasannåtmåna çocati na kå∫kßati

sama˙ sarveßu bhüteßu mad-bhaktiµ labhate paråm

The practitioner who has realized the Absolute Truth as the nondifferentiated impersonal Brahman does not lament over any material loss, neither does he desire any material gain. He is equipoised towards all objects of the material world, and these conditions make him fit to be promoted to the pure devotional service of Godhead.

However, the brahma-bhüta state of consciousness is also not a fully transcendental state of spiritual existence. The supramental consciousness, as exists in the spiritual kingdom of Vaiku√†ha, is a further development. The brahma-bhüta state of consciousness is undoubtedly free from gross material consciousness, and although touching the Absolute Truth indicates a transcendental feeling, it is not the actual transcendental position for realizing the activities of Vaiku√†ha. As such, it is also external.

Lord Caitanya wants the living entity to be free from every type of material consciousness, including becoming unconcerned with empiric knowledge and fruitive activities. One should stay in pure consciousness, as even a slight tinge of material consciousness causes an impersonal conception of the Absolute Truth. In all these different stages of material consciousness, only imaginary arguments predominate over the Absolute Personality of Godhead. Imaginary argumentative endeavors are detrimental to the pure devotional

service of Godhead, and, as such, even the liberated state as above mentioned is external. This liberated state is something like the convalescent stage after relief from a disease. If a convalescent person is not properly taken care of, a relapse of the disease may mar the whole attempt at recovery.

In the brahma-bhüta liberated stage, one has not yet obtained a resting place at the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead. As such, one is still unsupported and thus runs the chance of falling down again into material activities. It is therefore also external and thus the fourth suggestion of Råmånanda was rejected by Lord Caitanya.

Knowledge-free Devotion

Råmånanda then suggested the beginning of pure devotional service unconcerned with empiric knowledge or fruitive activity. To support this suggestion, Råmånanda quoted a statement of Brahmå during his prayer of regret before Çrî K®ß√a, the Personality of Godhead:

jñåne prayåsam udapåsya namanta evajîvanti san-mukharitåµ bhavadîya-vårtåm

ståne stitå˙ çruti-gatåµ tanu-vå∫-manobhir ye pråyaço ‘jita jito ‘py asi tais tri-lokyåm

O my Lord, those devotees who completely give up the attempt to become one with You by the culture of empiric knowledge and simply try to hear about Your glories from the mouths of self-realized saints, and who live a virtuous life, can easily achieve Your favor although You are unconquerable by anyone within the three worlds. (Bhåg. 10.14.3)


This stage of culturing devotional service directly was accepted by Lord Caitanya. All the previously described stages of the culture of spiritual realization were rejected by Lord Caitanya most logically. The Lord, however, accepted the universal method of hearing the glories of the Personality of Godhead in all circumstances from the mouths of self-realized souls and giving up the attempt to become one with Godhead.

The poison of attempting to become one with Godhead kills the nucleus of devotional service. Anyone actually desiring to be engaged in the transcendental loving service of Godhead must definitely give up this idea for good. In the Caitanya-caritåm®ta, it is said that the idea of being one with Godhead is the topmost type of pretension—even a slight development of this idea will completely eliminate the prospect for devotional service. This is the most dangerous mis conception in spiritual life and one should at once give up the idea.

Hear From Self-realized Souls

A pure living entity, being always subservient to the Almighty God-head Çrî K®ß√a, should reverentially give an aural reception to the transcendental sound emanating from the mouth of a self-realized soul describing the glories of the Personality of Godhead. Only a self-realized soul can produce the powerful effect of transcendental sound. Devotees must live thoroughly honest lives in all respects by their body, mind, and words. These are the simple methods of culturing spiritual realization to its zenith.

Lord Caitanya approved of this simple method for all classes of people without any distinction of caste, creed, color, or education. The only qualification of the practitioners that is essential for this spiritual culture is that they at once give up the idea of becoming one with

Godhead. This idea of becoming one with Godhead is generally only acquired by the empiric philosopher, but otherwise every human being naturally feels that God is greater than himself and that he is always subservient to all His wishes. Even a great personality like Mahåtmå Gandhi always spoke in terms of “God is great.” Gandhi often said, “Not a blade of grass moves without the sanction of God.”

Therefore, the imaginary idea of becoming one with Godhead is a mental creation of the empiric philosopher as a result of his material vanity. Otherwise, the idea has no substance. The idea of becoming one with Godhead is artificial and a simple-hearted per-son is always against such an idea. Rejecting the idea of becoming one with Godhead is always natural for everyone and nobody has to make any special attempt to dismiss this foolishness.

The next qualification is to become gentle and humble when hearing from a self-realized soul. The Bhagavad-gîtå is the direct transcendental message of Godhead, and the prospective devotee must receive this message with all gentleness and humility from a self-realized soul.

The method of receiving the message of Godhead, as men-tioned in the fourth chapter of the Bhagavad-gîtå, is to hear from the chain of disciplic succession. It is said there that the system of spiritual realization was first disclosed to Vivasvån, the sun-god, who transmitted the message to Manu, the father of mankind. Manu then transmitted the subject to his son Ikßvåku. By the transcendental method of disciplic succession, the system was realized by all the råjarßis, saintly kings. Unfortunately, the chain was broken and the message had to again be revived beginning with Arjuna, the friend and devotee of Çrî K®ß√a.

The prospective devotee’s qualification of hearing the transcendental message will not depend on birth, heritage, education, caste, creed, color, or nationality, but will depend on humility and


finding the proper source for receiving the transcendental message. The mystery of the message as mentioned in the Bhagavad-gîtå must therefore be understood in terms of the realization of Arjuna and nobody else. The realization of Arjuna is also mentioned in the Bhagavad-gîtå, and whoever speaks in the line of that realization is to be considered a self-realized soul. The message of Bhagavad-gîtå is to be heard from a self-realized soul and not from anyone speculating on dry subjects with imaginary meanings. The un-bona-fide attempt at hearing will simply be a waste of time. The devotee must always be careful that the speaker is in the transcendental line of disciplic succession called the paramparå. The qualification of the prospective devotee should be that he must live an honest life by his body, mind, and words, which will all depend on the mercy of Godhead.

Spontaneous Love of Godhead

Thus, the preliminary stage of culturing devotional service without any touch of speculative knowledge was accepted by Lord Caitanya who then asked Råmånanda Råya to proceed further in developing the service sentiment to higher and higher stages of love of Godhead until the highest stage was reached. Råmånanda answered that the progress in this line will end in the loving service of Godhead. Every living entity has within his heart a dormant and eternal love of Godhead. Spiritual culture is the attempt to revive that eternal love of Godhead to its spontanous stage, and the beginning of that attempt is receiving the transcendental message of Godhead from the right source—a self-realized soul. After receiving the transcendental message, this conception has to be developed to the spontaneous stage of love of Godhead. Råmånanda describes the process in the following words:

nånopacåra-k®ta-püjanam årta-bandho˙ prem√aiva bhakta-h®dayaµ sukha-vidrutaµ syåt

yåvat kßud asti ja†hare jara†hå pipåså tåvat sukhåya bhavato nanu bhakßya-peye

As long as there is acute hunger in the stomach, there is pleasure in eating and drinking. Similarly, as long as ecstatic spontaneous love of God is aroused in the mind of a devotee, the worship of Godhead with all kinds of paraphernalia becomes the real cause of happiness. (Padyåvalî 13)

The purport of this statement is that hunger is the cause of pleasure in taking foodstuffs. Similarly, spontaneous love of Godhead is the cause of all pleasure in spiritual culture.

Çrî Råmånanda Råya quoted another çloka as follows:

k®ß√a-bhakti-rasa-bhåvitå mati˙krîyatåµ yadi kuto ‘pi labhyate

tatra laulyam api mülyam ekalaµ janma-ko†i-suk®tair na labhyate

The intelligence for achieving the loving service of God-head may be purchased from anywhere it is available. The price for such a purchase is a strong desire for achieving such a stage of life. Such a strong desire for rendering loving service unto the Personality of Godhead is very, very rare because it is developed by accumulating the results of many virtuous purifying acts in thousands and thousands of lives. (Padyåvalî 14)


Desire for rendering loving service unto the Personality of Godhead is an invaluable desire and it brings the highest spiritual perfection. It is very rarely seen in the ordinary course of life. Lord Caitanya, being the most magnanimous incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, out of His kindness and causeless mercy upon the fallen souls of this age of Kali, is prepared to bestow the highest benefit of life by the simple method of hearing and chanting the glories of the Personal-ity of Godhead. This is the beginning of the transcendental method, gradually reaching to the stage of spontaneous love of Godhead.

Dåsya-Prema

To develop the conception, Lord Caitanya asked Råmånanda to go further. As such, Råmånanda first suggested the devotional service called dåsya-prema or the mellow of transcendental servitude. He quoted a verse from Çrîmad Bhågavatam uttered by Durvåså Muni. Durvåså Muni, with the pride of a caste bråhma√a, envied the pure devotee Mahåråja Ambarîßa, who happened to be a householder king and by caste a kßatriya. Durvåså Muni wanted to put Mahåråja Ambarîßa in trouble by the strength of his mystic prowess.

When Ambarîßa Mahåråja was put into trouble, the disc weapon of Lord Viß√u, Sudarçana cakra, appeared to rescue Mahåråja Am-barîßa and attack Durvåså for his nefarious deed of troubling a pure Vaiß√ava devotee. As Durvåså was being harassed by the Sudarçana cakra of Lord Viß√u, he came to his senses and understood that he was mistaken in considering a pure devotee to be less qualified than a mystic like himself. In the end, Durvåså was excused by Mahåråja Ambarîßa, who was naturally always forgiving to everyone. Durvåså Muni, being relieved from his misconception of caste predominance, praised the Personality of Godhead and His sweet relationship with

His pure devotee. He said, “Nothing is impossible for a pure devotee of the Personality of Godhead because simply by hearing His tran-scendental name, a person becomes purified of all vices.” The purport is that if a person can become purified of all sins simply by hearing the Holy Name of Godhead, what is impossible for His servant who is constantly engaged in His service? Durvåså Muni acknowledged the supremacy of a servant of Godhead over any kind of yogî, what to speak of a jñånî or karmî (empiric philosopher or fruitive worker).

The transcendental bliss that is enjoyed by a servant of the Personality of Godhead has been described by Çrî Yåmunåcårya. He said, “O my Lord, when shall I feel myself to be Your absolutely faithful, bona-fide servant, and live in transcendental cheerfulness by constantly obeying Your orders after being completely freed from all mental speculative desires?”

Sakhya-Prema

Lord Caitanya was satisfied by Råmånanda’s explanation of transcendental servitude to the Personality of Godhead, and He asked Råmånanda to go still further. Råmånanda then explained spontane-ous loving service rendered by a friend of the Personality of Godhead. This is called sakhya-prema or the transcendental rasa of friendship with the Personality of Godhead.

råya kahe—“sakhya-prema—sarva-sådhya-såra”

Sakhya-prema is superior to dåsya-prema in the following respect: Although in dåsya-prema there is a transcendental relationship with Godhead as master and servant, it includes the sense that “God is my maker.” Thus in dåsya-prema there is an awareness of the greatness


of the Personality of Godhead, and as such dåsya-prema is mixed with a sense of fear and reverence for Him.

In sakhya-prema, the sense of fear and reverence is completely absent. On the contrary, a sense of equality prevails in the sakhya-prema. This sense of equality is an advance over the dåsya-prema. Here is a quotation from Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.12.11) on the subject of sakhya-prema:

itthaµ satåµ brahma-sukhånubhütyådåsyaµ gatånåµ para-daivatena

måyåçritånåµ nara-dårake√a sårdhaµ vijahru˙ k®ta-pu√ya-puñjå˙

The Personality of Godhead Çrî K®ß√a, who is experienced by the empiric philosophers as an impersonal feeling of transcendental bliss, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead to the devotees related with Him as master and servant, and who is an ordinary human child to the people under the illusion of the external energy, was playing in the rasa of friendship with the cowherd boys of Vraja, who obtained that stage of life after many, many virtuous acts accumulated in many, many lives.

Våtsalya-Prema

Lord Caitanya approved of this advance and asked Råmånanda to go still further in the development of transcendental relationships. Sakhya-prema is an advance in transcendental mellowness over dåsya-prema, but våtsalya-prema, parental affection, is still more advanced than sakhya-prema.

Råmånanda Råya thus described a stanza from Çrîmad Bhågavatam describing the excellence of våtsalya-prema.

nanda˙ kim akarod brahmançreya evaµ mahodayamyaçodå vå mahå-bhågå

papau yasyå˙ stanaµ hari˙

O bråhma√a, it is puzzling to try to understand what virtuous acts Nanda Mahåråja performed that he could have Hari (Çrî K®ß√a) as his son. It is also puzzling to try to understand about Yaçodå-devî, who was addressed by the Personality of Godhead Çrî K®ß√a as ‘Mother’ and whose breast He sucked in filial affection.

Here is another quote from the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.9.20):

nemaµ viriñco na bhavona çrîr apy a∫ga-saµçrayå

prasådaµ lebhire gopî yat tat pråpa vimuktidåt

Thus, the blessing of the Personality of Godhead Çrî K®ß√a, which was gained by the cowherd lady Yaçodå-devî, was never expected by the demigods like Brahmå or Çiva or even by Lakßmî-devî, who is the constant consort of the Personality of Godhead Nåråya√a.

This means that Çrîmatî Yaçodå-devî and Nanda Mahåråja worshiped the Personality of Godhead with the conception of the ‘sonhood of Godhead.’ In Christianity the ‘fatherhood of Godhead’ is accepted, and


in Hinduism there is worship of çakti, the external energy of Godhead, the ‘motherhood of Godhead.’ Both these shadows of våtsalya-prema are material or a product of the external energy. They are a sort of perverted representation of the real våtsalya-prema, because by such a material conception of ‘fatherhood’ or ‘motherhood’ of Godhead, the worshiper’s aim is to extract service from the Almighty.

The spirit of enjoyment and the spirit of renunciation are the predominant factors of material existence. The enjoying spirit is cultivated by the karmîs, people engaged in fruitive activities, and the spirit of renunciation is cultivated by the jñånîs, empiric philosophers, who have become baffled by their engagement in fruitive activities. Both the karmîs and jñånîs are therefore materialists because both of them maintain the spirit of being served by the Absolute Truth. To satisfy their own conceptions, both of them demand something from the Absolute Truth.

The Absolute Truth is meant to be served by all living entities. He is not meant to serve the living entities. The living entities are mentioned in the Bhagavad-gîtå as the parts and parcels of the Ab-solute Truth. The parts and parcels are meant to render service to the whole. It is absurd for the parts and parcels to think of becoming one with the whole or to extract service from the whole. The part and parcel living entity, when unfit to render service, is detached from the whole. Therefore, the spirit of demanding service from the Absolute Whole is a symptom of being detached from the Absolute Whole, or, in other words, of being in the domain of the external energy of Godhead. Such a demanding policy of the materialists, through the conception of the ‘fatherhood’ or ‘motherhood’ of Godhead, is a slight attempt to revive their eternal relationships with Godhead; however, these conceptions are far from the conception of the ‘son-hood of Godhead’ as shown by Nanda and Yaçodå.

The conception of the ‘sonhood of Godhead’ is a cent percent

spiritually pure transcendental rasa. There was no demand made by Nanda and Yaçodå on the Personality of Godhead. They offered pure and simple service to the Personality of Godhead by nursing Him as a baby. Under the influence of Yogamåyå, the internal energy of Godhead, they thought of Çrî K®ß√a as nothing more or less than their affectionate and dependent son. The service of parents for a dependent son is always spontaneous and unalloyed.

Mådhurya-Prema

Lord Caitanya admitted the superiority of våtsalya-prema over sakhya-prema, but He asked Råmånanda to go still further in the realm of transcendental mellowness. Lord Caitanya said:

prabhu kahe—“eho uttama, åge kaha åra”råya kahe, “kåntå-prema sarva-sådhya-såra”

So far, you have certainly explained the gradual develop-ment of transcendental, eternal relationships with the Personality of Godhead very well. But above this concep-tion of våtsalya-prema there is a supreme transcendental rasa, which is the topmost transcendental service.

Upon hearing this suggestion of Lord Caitanya, Råmånanda declared that a transcendental conjugal relationship with Godhead is the high-est form of loving service rendered to the Personality of Godhead.

The process of developing a transcendental relationship with Godhead is understood gradually. By simply accepting the glories of the Personality of Godhead and establishing service to Him in the transcendental rasa of calmness, çånta-prema, the sentiment of love


for Godhead as one’s personal master is not developed. Çånta-prema is a stage of peaceful appreciation of the glories of the Personality of Godhead.

In dåsya-prema or transcendental servitude to Godhead, a sense of intimacy with Godhead is not developed. In both sakhya-prema, transcendental friendship with Godhead, and våtsalya-prema, parental affection, the sense of unrestricted approach for loving service is not developed. As such, the complete perfection of trans cendental relation ships is not found. The fullness of service, unchecked by all conventional restrictions, is only developed in mådhurya-prema, transcendental loving service in conjugal love.

Thus, on the order of Lord Caitanya, Råmånanda began to explain the nature of mådhurya-prema. Råmånanda quoted a verse from the Çrîmad Bhågavatam wherein Uddhava spoke of the fortune of K®ß√a’s cowherd girlfriends, who melted away in ecstasy when they heard Uddhava describe the activities of Çrî K®ß√a. Uddhava said,

nåyaµ çriyo ’∫ga u nitånta-rate˙ prasåda˙svar-yoßitåµ nalina-gandha-rucåµ kuto ’nyå˙

råsotsave ’sya bhuja-da√∂a-g®hîta-ka√†ha labdhåçißåµ ya udagåd-vraja-sundarî√åm

The transcendental happiness that was bestowed upon the beautiful damsels of Vraja, who got the opportunity to be embraced by the strong hands of Çrî K®ß√a on the occasion of performing the råsa-lîlå, was never experienced even by Lakßmî, who resides on the chest of the Personality of Godhead Nåråya√a. Neither was such pleasure ever felt by the angels of heaven whose bodies emanate the smell of lotus flowers. What to speak then of ordinary beauties? (Bhåg. 10.47.60)

Quoting another passage from Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.82.2), Råmånanda said,

tåsåm åvirabhüc chauri˙smayamåna-mukhåmbuja˙

pîtåmbara-dhara˙ sragvî såkßån manmatha-manmatha˙

Çrî K®ß√a, who is the enchanter of Cupid, dressed in yellow, wore a garland of flowers, and all of a sudden appeared in His eternal smiling form in the midst of the cowherd girls, who were mourning in separation from Him after the pastime of the råsa-lîlå.

Thus Råmånanda Råya summarized all of the different transcendental relationships with Godhead. He said that all of these are means of gaining the favor of Çrî K®ß√a. A devotee in a particular relation-ship with Godhead will consider that relationship the highest of all, but when all the transcendental relationships are scrutinized and compared from a neutral angle of vision, the difference of intensity can be estimated.

Upstarts

Presently, a class of asuras (ungodly people who are demoniac in nature) have ventured to become preachers of spiritual realization by propagating a novel theory that the Absolute Truth is a matter of personal realization and the particular type of realization one has does not matter. This idea has sprung up from demoniac thinking that directly denies any particular cause of the creation. A description


of such asuras is given in the sixteenth chapter of the Bhagavad-gîtå. The asuras do not believe in the existence of the Personality of Godhead, under whose direction the creation takes place.

According to the asuras, everything in the world is a matter of chance and there is no truth in the belief that God has created the universe. The different philosophical theories about the creation, put forward by atheists, are speculative gymnastic feats. Because they say that determining the Absolute Truth is a matter of personal realization, the so-called favor of Godhead can be achieved by any means that may be conceived of by a simple speculator. They say that there are as many ways of realizing God or the Absolute Truth as there are speculators in the world.

Råmånanda Råya is certainly not one of these speculators, and his mention of ‘various means of gaining the favor of Godhead’ does not suggest that the transcendental favor of Godhead can be achieved by any speculative method of the empiric philosopher or the upstarts of spiritual fervor.

In the name of Lord Caitanya’s cult of devotion, many specula-tors of the above nature have already sprung up. The ‘various means’ as suggested by Råmånanda is not an adjustment of the false means of achieving the favor of Godhead adopted by the imitation Caitan-yaites. ‘Various means’ are mentioned in connection with the perfect mellows of love, namely çånta-prema, dåsya-prema, sakhya-prema, våtsalya-prema, and mådhurya-prema.

The five transcendental rasas of loving service are possible only after one has transcended the stage of material impediments known as anarthas (unwanted things in the heart). Those who have no access to the transcendental service of Godhead wrongly think that manufactured processes are equal to the above-mentioned self-real-ized stages of love of Godhead. This misconception of the upstarts is but a sign of their misfortune.

Mellow of Sweetness

The analysis of the above-mentioned five transcendental rasas is also made in the Bhakti-råsam®ta-sindhu. It is said there that the transcendental rasas are experienced in five progressive ways. Yet at a certain point, one rasa is experienced as the sweetest of all.

A practical analysis has been made by Çrîla K®ß√a Dåsa Kaviråja Gosvåmî in the following example: “Ether, air, fire, water, and earth are five different elements. Sound is experienced in ether. Sound and touch are experienced in air. Sound, touch, and form are experienced in fire. Sound, touch, form, and taste are experienced in water. And sound, touch, form, taste, and smell are experienced in earth. Earth has the qualities of all the elements. The analysis is that each elemental quality is developed through the other by gradual development, but the last one, namely earth, possesses all the qualities.”

In the same way, the transcendental mellowness experienced in the stage of çånta-prema is developed in the stage of dåsya-prema and then sakhya-prema. It is further developed in våtsalya-prema, and lastly the complete development is manifested in the stage of mådhurya-prema, for mådhurya-prema includes all the rasas experienced in all the other devotional stages.

According to the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.82.45), the Person-ality of Godhead is completely obliged by the transcendental loving service rendered in the mood of mådhurya-prema:

mayi bhaktir hi bhütånåmam®tatvåya kalpate

diß†yå yad åsîn mat-sneho bhavatînåµ mad-åpana˙


The Personality of Godhead said, “Loving devotional service unto Me is itself the eternal life of the living entity. My dear cowherd girls, the affection that you have in your hearts for Me is the only cause of achieving My favor.”

In the Bhagavad-gîtå (4.11) it is said,

ye yathå måµ prapadyante tåµs tathaiva bhajåmy aham

mama vartmånuvartante manußyå˙ pårtha sarvaça˙

The Personality of Godhead declares that He is experienced in propor-tion to the degree of one’s surrender. The Lord reciprocates in His different manifestations with the particular feelings of His devotees.

Quacks of Spiritual Science

The materialistic philosophers of this world, by way of mental speculation, have decided that God is approachable by any means of spiritual cultivation. According to them, it does not matter whether the method is fruitive action, empiric philosophical speculation, mystic yoga, meditation, penance, or any other method; all of them will ultimately lead to the highest goal. The example that they gener-ally put forward in support of their theory goes like this: “There may be several thoroughfares, and if any one of them is followed, surely one will reach the desired destination.” More explicitly, they say that God is represented in various forms such as Lord Råmacandra, the impersonal Brahman, Goddess Kålî, Durgå, Mahådeva, Ga√eça, and many others, and as such any one of them can be worshiped with equal value.

Another example they use in this connection is that a man may have many names and if he is called by any one of them, he replies to the call. These statements of the quacks of spiritual science are like the indistinct vocal attempt of a spiritual baby. The indistinct voice of a baby may be very sweet to the ear of mental speculators, but the bona-fide spiritualists reject it as a foolish child’s babbling.

Attachment for Demigods

The Bhagavad-gîtå (9.25) states:

yånti deva-vratå devånpit®n yånti pit®-vratå˙bhütåni yånti bhütejyå

yånti mad-yåjino’pi måm

The worshipers of the demigods such as Ga√eça, Sürya, and Indra will ultimately reach the abodes of such gods. They will go to the planets of those demigods respectively according to their worship, while only the devotee of Çrî K®ß√a will reach the abode of Çrî K®ß√a. Thus the mundaners avoid the Bhagavad-gîtå. They forget that they are under the influence of the conditions of the external energy. As such, they worship the demigods motivated by a desire for material gain and develop an illusory attachment for such demigods and thereby are thrown from the real path of progress—reaching the Personality of Godhead. Being attached thus, the worshipers of different demigods are forced to circumambulate the different spheres of the material world and undergo the rigors of repeated birth and death.

Those who aspire to reach the Personality of Godhead and thereby worship Him by loving service will certainly reach Him.


The real explanation is that one gets the result of the quality of their worship, and all the results are not the same, as conceived by the mundane speculators. Those who aspire after the results of their religiosity, economic development, sense gratification, and endeav-ors for salvation cannot expect to reach the same destination as the pure transcendental devotees. The result of religiosity is temporary happiness in the human life. The result of economic development is increased facility for sense gratification. And the result of sense gratification is frustration, which leads to the desire for liberation. The result of salvation is merging into the impersonal Brahman. But the result for the devotee of Çrî K®ß√a is the attainment of the eternal service of the Personality of Godhead. The gulf of difference between these diverse results cannot be understood by the mundaners.

Mahåmåyå and Yogamåyå

Mahåmåyå, the mother or source of this material world, and the delegated demigods are but diverse external energies or agencies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Under the direction of the Personality of Godhead, these agencies perform their respective functions in the administration of the universal laws. That is the in-formation we have from the Bhagavad-gîtå, in which the Personality of Godhead declares that only under His direction does the material energy produce the material world, and the whole administration of the universes is thus controlled, ultimately by Him.

The internal energy of Godhead is different. That is also ex-plained in the Bhagavad-gîtå—there is another permanent energy of Godhead that is never destroyed, even after the annihilation of the whole cosmic manifestation. That internal energy is different from Mahåmåyå and she is called Yogamåyå.

The permanent universe is the creation of Yogamåyå. Those who want unalloyed loving service to the Personality of Godhead must ask for the mercy of Yogamåyå. Those who want to satisfy their own senses or those who desire to become one with the impersonal Brahman because of being baffled by the pursuit of sense gratification worship Mahåmåyå or the predominating demigods respectively.

The damsels of Vraja worshiped Yogamåyå to get the son of the King of Vraja as their husband or lover, while others within the system of material var√åçrama-dharma worship Mahåmåyå, the superintending deity of the material world, to alleviate distress. There is a gulf of difference between the results of these two varieties of worship, and the attempt to equalize such diametrically opposed activities is like the jaundiced eye seeing everything as yellow. Such is the vision of the diseased person in ignorance.

The Name is Absolute

Sometimes a homely man is named ‘Cupid.’ In such a case, the name is without any significance. But this is never the case with the Personality of Godhead. Being the Absolute, all His different features are also absolute. There is no difference between Him, His names, and His features. He is known by different names. He is known as the impersonal Brahman, Paramåtmå, the Almighty Creator, Nåråya√a, Gopînåtha, K®ß√a, Govinda, and many other such names.

Although every name of the Absolute is absolute in itself, the worshiper of God as the Creator of the Universe cannot relish the same bliss as those who worship God as Nåråya√a. ‘Creator of the Universe’ is the name preferred by materialistic people, as it is suitable for their sense gratification. The conception of ‘Creator’ does not fully represent the conception of Godhead. The creation is a function of Godhead’s


external energy. If He is conceived of as the impersonal Brahman, we cannot get information about all of His potencies. His transcendental bliss, knowledge, qualities, and form are not fully represented in His impersonal feature. Paramåtmå is also not fully representative of the conception of Godhead. In the Bhagavad-gîtå (18.61), Paramåtmå is described as localized Godhead in the heart of all living beings; He is only a partial representation of the Personality of Godhead, Nåråya√a. Then again, the worshiper of Nåråya√a also cannot relish the tran-scendental bliss experienced in the service of Çrî K®ß√a.

Rasåbhåsa

The pure devotees of Çrî K®ß√a do not wish to worship Nåråya√a, in whose personality the transcendental mellowness of Çrî K®ß√a is somewhat covered. The cowherd girls never addressed Çrî K®ß√a as ‘the husband of Rukmi√î.’ That would be intolerable for them. Rukmi√î-rama√a and Çrî K®ß√a may be the same Personality of Godhead in the opinion of the mundaners, but They cannot be equally relished. If someone mixes up both of the above out of sheer ignorance, that is a defect in relishing transcendental mellowness called rasåbhåsa. People who have some sense of the delicate transcendental nature of Godhead do not commit the mistake of rasåbhåsa like those who form the society of ignorant people.

Not Possible to Reciprocate

Although the Personality of Godhead reciprocates accordingly with the dealings of His different devotees in different stages of loving service, He has declared His inability to reciprocate with the dealings

of the gopîs, the damsels of Vraja who serve Him in the capacity of mådhurya-prema. Addressing the damsels of Vraja, the Personality of Godhead Çrî K®ß√a said,

na påraye ‘haµ niravadya-saµyujåµsva-sådhu-k®tyaµ vibudhåyußåpi va˙yå måbhajan durjaya-geha-ç®∫khalå˙ saµv®çcya tad va˙ pratiyåtu sådhunå

My dear cowherd girls, your love for Me is spotlessly pure and it will not be possible for Me to reciprocate with the noble service you render to Me, not even in many future lives, because you have completely sacrificed the shackles of family life to come to Me. I am therefore unable to repay the debts I have incurred in accepting your love. You must therefore kindly be satisfied by your own deeds. (Bhåg. 10.32.21)

The beauty of Çrî K®ß√a increases in the association of the cowherd girls of Vraja, although Çrî K®ß√a Himself is the last word in beauty. This is confirmed in the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.33.6):

tatråtiçuçubhe tåbhirbhagavån devakî-suta˙

madhye ma√înåµ haimånåµ mahå-mårakato yathå

Although the Personality of Godhead, who is the son of Devakî, is the last word in beauty, when He is in the midst of the cowherd girls of Vraja, He appears like the most valuable jewel set within a network of golden filigree.


Lord Caitanya was now completely satisfied by the statement of Råmånanda Råya about mådhurya-prema, which is the culmination of transcendental loving service relationships with the Personality of Godhead. Still, He expected something more from Råmånanda and asked him to go still further. At this most extraordinary request of Lord Caitanya, Råmånanda was astonished. He knew no devotee who could know more than this. But as expert as he was, Råmånanda began to go still further by the mercy of Lord Caitanya.

The Topmost Servitor

Having already discussed the superexcellent qualities of the trans-cendental mellowness known as mådhurya-prema and Çrî K®ß√a’s inability to repay the service of the spotlessly pure-hearted cowherd girls of Vraja, Råmånanda then proceeded further in the same line in an attempt to discuss the service rendered by Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, the topmost servitor among all the cowherd girls.

Çrî K®ß√a, the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the full-fledged ånanda-cinmaya-rasa-ujjvala-vigraha—His eternal form fully displays transcendental existence, knowledge, and bliss by His own internal potency called the hlådinî-çakti. Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is the controlling Deity of that joyous energy of Godhead. The joyous nature of Çrî K®ß√a’s energy and Çrî K®ß√a Himself are identical, but They appear separately for the purpose of enjoying each other. Therefore, Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a are two component parts of the same divine entity. Without Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, K®ß√a is incomplete—and without Çrî K®ß√a, Rådhårå√î is incomplete. Thus these two cannot be separated from one another. They combine as one in Çrî Caitanya Mahåprabhu to fulfill this transcendental truth.

Most Magnanimous

It is very difficult for one to understand the lîlå of Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a, but Lord Caitanya is the most liberal, magnanimous, merciful, and willing benedictor of all living beings in this age of Kali. He is readily distributing the highest secret of the spiritual world and only requires that we accept it.

Lord Caitanya has provided us with the easiest way to receive His topmost gift. The first qualification is that one should at once discard the idea of såyujya-mukti or becoming one with the imper-sonal Brahman. The second qualification is that one should simply hear all these transcendental messages in a fully submissive mood from a person who is a bona-fide devotee in the line of Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî’s disciplic succession. And the third and last qualification is that one be very pure in all one’s dealings in life, remaining un-affected by the infectious influence of the age of Kali.

A person who has all of these three simple qualifications will have phenomenal success in entering into the plane of Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu’s unbounded mercy. Any deviation from the above-mentioned three qualities will completely close the door of entrance, regardless of how one may try to understand Him by the strength of one’s mundane acquisitions. Without the above three qualifications nobody can enter into Lord Caitanya’s lîlå. Those who have tried to enter into it neglecting the necessary qualities are known as åula, båula, kartåbhajå, ne∂å, sakhî-bhekî, daraveça, så√i, sahajiyå, smårta, jåti-gosvåmî, ativå∂i, cü∂ådhårî, gaurå∫ga-någarî, and many others. Such persons may be considered worthless imitators of Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu’s lîlå. Unfortunately, they are misleading the ignorant masses who are already condemned by the influence of Kali-yuga.


Not For Ordinary People

Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is the most important of all the gopîs, and Her specific loving service is the highest expression of mådhurya-prema. Therefore, it is better that the neophyte practitioners in the devotional field not try to understand the intimacies of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î’s confidential service. However, expecting that submissive and bona-fide devotees will understand Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î’s service in the future, these confidential discussions are described by Çrîla K®ß√a Dåsa Kaviråja Gosvåmî in his Caitanya-caritåm®ta.

Devotees who have been fortunate enough to rise to the spontaneous service of Godhead, rågånuga-bhakti, and who have developed an attraction for mådhurya-prema, may follow in the footsteps of the confidential associates of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and their assistants called the mañjarîs.

The ecstasy that was felt by Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î when She met Uddhava in Vraja in Her mournful mood of separation from Çrî K®ß√a is personified in Lord Caitanya. Nobody should imitate Lord Caitanya’s transcendental feelings because it is impossible for a living being to reach that stage. However, at a stage of developed consciousness one can simply follow in His footsteps. These are the hints given by experienced and self-realized devotees in the line of Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî.

Distinguished Cowherd Girl

Råmånanda Råya then explained a çloka from the Padma Purå√a:

yathå rådhå priyå viß√ostasyå˙ ku√∂aµ priyaµ tathå

sarva-gopîßu saivaikå viß√or atyanta-vallabhå

Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is the most beloved cowherd girl of Çrî K®ß√a. Not only Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, but the lake known as Çrî Rådhå-ku√∂a is as dear to Çrî K®ß√a as Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î Herself.

Råmånanda Råya then quoted another çloka from Çrîmad Bhåga-vatam (10.30.28):

anayårådhito nünaµ bhagavån harir îçvara˙yan no vihåya govinda˙ prîto yåm anayad raha˙

My dear friends, the cowherd girl who has just been taken in privacy by Çrî K®ß√a, leaving us all aside, must have rendered more valuable service to Him than ourselves.

Çrî Rådhå is the specific name of the distinguished cowherd girl who has rendered the most obliging services to Çrî K®ß√a. On hearing these two statements by Råmånanda, Lord Caitanya felt an ecstasy of His own and said to Råmånanda:

prabhu kahe—åge kaha, çunite påi sukhe apürvåm®ta-nadî vahe tomåra mukhe

“Please continue. I am feeling too much happiness by your mode of explanation. It is something like a transcendental river of bliss flowing from your tongue.” Lord Caitanya added:


curi kari’ rådhåke nila gopî-ga√era ∂are anyåpekßå haile premera gå∂hatå nå sphure

Çrî K®ß√a stole away Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î because the nature of love that He had for Her was disturbed in the presence of the other gopîs. If K®ß√a can give up the company of all other gopîs for the sake of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, I know that He is especially attached to Her love.

When the transcendental pastime of råsa-lîlå continued, Çrî K®ß√a thought that in the presence of all the gopîs, confidential and se-cluded love affairs with Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î would not be possible. He thought that in the presence of others the intensity of private love affairs could not be relished. For this reason, Çrî K®ß√a abducted Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î from within the assembly of all the other gopîs and became separated from them all.

The Search of Çrî K®ß√a

Råmånanda Råya said that there is no comparison to Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î’s love within the universe. Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î did not like to be equal with all the other gopîs. Thus in a mood of erotic anger, She left the arena of the råsa-lîlå. It was the desire of Çrî K®ß√a that Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î fulfill His necessity for råsa-lîlå, but when She went away, Çrî K®ß√a became disturbed and in a mood of moroseness He left the råsa-lîlå arena to search for Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. Råmånanda Råya quoted two other çlokas from the Gîta-govinda (3.1, 2):

kaµsårir api saµsåra-våsanå-baddha-ç®∫khalåm

rådhåm ådhåya h®daye tatyåja vraja-sundarî˙

itas-tatas tåm anus®tya rådhikåmana∫ga-vå√a-vra√a-khinna-månasa˙

k®tånutåpa˙ sa kalinda-nandinî ta†ånta-kuñje vißasåda mådhava˙

The enemy of Kaµsa (Çrî K®ß√a) became afflicted with the desire to liberate His parents Vasudeva and Devakî from imprisonment in Mathurå and left the company of the beautiful damsels of Vraja, keeping Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î within His heart.

Being afflicted by the arrow of Cupid and unhappily re-gretting His mistreating Rådhårå√î, Mådhava (Çrî K®ß√a) began to search for Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î along the banks of the Yamunå River. When He failed to find Her, he entered the bushes of V®ndåvana and began to lament.

All the above statements are of a very, very high standard of transcendental pastimes of the Personality of Godhead and may appear to be like the ordinary stories of a hero and heroine. The whole activity may also appear like the lusty behavior of ordinary men and women, but this is the foolishness of the mundane con-ception. The complete picture is of transcendental loving service to the Personality of Godhead by the pure senses, completely freed from mundane designations and cleansed of all mundane affairs. Only the highest devotee, who is absolutely purified by the regula-tive principles of devotional service and who has attained the stage of realizing the degraded nature of mundane erotic activities, can


relish these supramundane affairs, although they are described in language that is understandable to the general populace.

The cheerfulness of Lord Caitanya in relishing the above state-ments by Råmånanda Råya is the proof that they are the highest standard of transcendental expression. Therefore, readers should be careful not to bring these topics down to a level of mundane affairs.

Råmånanda Råya continued to explain that by a critical study of the above two çlokas we can know that the råsa-lîlå is performed in the company of innumerable cowherd girls, but, in spite of this, the Personality of Godhead prefers to remain spe-cifically with Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. Knowing this, a devotee’s heart becomes swollen with transcendental joy, which may be compared to a mine of nectar.

Hearing about all these transcendental love affairs, the hearts of experienced devotees are filled with an inexplicable supramun-dane joy. They feel that Çrî K®ß√a is equally fond of all the gopîs, but He is specifically attracted by the clever and often contradictory dealings of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. Thus, She contributes the most to the råsa-lîlå.

By Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î’s Side

It is understood from the authoritative literatures, which describe the transcendental pastimes of Godhead, that in the arena of the råsa-lîlå dance, Çrî K®ß√a distributed Himself in His innumerable prakåça expansions by keeping Himself between each of the cowherd girls. He also kept Himself by the side of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. The prakåça expansions of His transcendental body are all identical, but the personality by the side of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is His original form,

svayam-rüpa. Çrî K®ß√a is equal to everyone in His general dealings, but due to the conflicting ecstatic love of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î there were opposing elements. This is described in the Ujjvala-nîlama√i as follows:

aher iva gati˙ prem√a˙svabhåva-ku†ilå bhavet

ato hetor ahetoç ca yünor måna udañcati

The curved ways of progressive love affairs appear like the movement of a snake. Further, two different kinds of anger, anger with a cause and anger without a cause, arise within the dealings of a young man and a young woman.

In pursuance of the above principles, Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î in a mood of erotic anger left the arena of the råsa-lîlå with a feeling of devout attachment. Thus Çrî Hari also became mad after Her and perturbed in His mind out of anger without cause. Çrî K®ß√a’s desire was to enjoy the transcendental pastime of the råsa-lîlå in its fullness and the cornerstone of its whole construction was Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. Without Her presence, the råsa-lîlå is upset. Therefore, the absence of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î caused Çrî K®ß√a to leave the arena and go in search of Her.

When Çrî K®ß√a was unable to find Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î after searching here and there, He became overwhelmingly afflicted by Cupid’s arrow and began to deeply lament on account of Her absence. This fact proves that the transcendental heart of Çrî K®ß√a is not satiated even by His enjoyment in the midst of so many millions of other cowherd girls. As such, the intensity of His love for Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is impossible to describe.


All the above statements regarding the transcendental lîlå of Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a profusely delighted Lord Caitanya and He became completely satisfied by His meeting with Råmånanda Råya.

prabhu kahe—ye lågi’ åilåma tomå-sthånesei saba tattva-vastu haila mora jñåneebe se jånilu∫ sådhya-sådhana-nir√ayaåge åra åche kichu, çunite mana haya

k®ß√era svarüpa’ kaha ‘rådhåra svarüpa’‘rasa’ kon tattva, ‘prema’—kon tattva-rüpa

k®på kari’ ei tattva kaha ta’ åmåretomå-vinå keha ihå nirüpite nåre

Lord Caitanya said to Råmånanda, “I have now come to know the truth of the lîlå of Çrî K®ß√a and Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î for which I ap-proached you. I have understood the truth of the highest goal to be attained and also the means to attain it. Therefore, please explain the divine nature of Çrî K®ß√a and also that of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. Please also let Me know the truth of the mellowness of supramundane love affairs. Nobody can explain all these except your good self. Therefore, I request you to do Me this favor by your unbounded mercy.”

Guru of Lord Caitanya

The method of approach and the manner of humility exhibited by Lord Caitanya to Råmånanda is the ideal for approaching a bona-fide tattva-darçî or a master of transcendental knowledge. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gîtå (4.34):

tad viddhi pra√ipåtenaparipraçnena sevayå

upadekßyanti te jñånaµ jñåninas tattva-darçîna˙

In the Bhagavad-gîtå, it is recommended that one approach the spiritual master for supramundane knowledge under the protec-tion of service and surrender accompanied by relevant inquiries. Lord Caitanya, as the ideal teacher and practical demonstrator of the teachings of the Bhagavad-gîtå, teaches us by His approach to Råmånanda Råya. He shows that a person desirous of knowing the transcendental science must not be proud of his material acquisi-tions of education and wealth, which are very insignificant to the transcendentally situated spiritual master from whom we should be very keen to understand the science of devotion.

If somebody approaches the bona-fide spiritual master with the vanity of mundane pride in respect to his heredity, wealth, educa-tion, or personal beauty and without the necessary qualifications of surrender, service, and relevant inquiry, surely such a person will be honored outwardly by the spiritual master, but the spiritual master will decline to bestow transcendental knowledge upon the student who by his attitude of mundane vanity is rendered unqualified. Such a proud student is actually a çüdra and he has no access to spiritual knowledge for want of the necessary qualifications mentioned above. Thus the çüdra student, instead of availing himself to the mercy of the spiritual master, goes to hell as a result of his mundane vanity.

Råmånanda Råya was born in the family of a çüdra and was also a g®hastha in terms of the system of var√åçrama-dharma. Lord Caitanya appeared in the family of a highly cultured bråhma√a of


Navadvîpa and was in the topmost rank of the sannyåsa-åçrama. Therefore, in terms of the var√åçrama system, Råmånanda Råya was in the lowest status while Lord Caitanya was in the highest status; yet, because Råmånanda was a master in the art of transcendental knowledge, Lord Caitanya approached him as one should approach a guru. He did so for the benefit of us all.

True Student of Truth

Lord Caitanya descended into this mortal world as the ideal spiritual master, and thus His teaching is very significant. The students who really desire spiritual upliftment may carefully note all these deal-ings.

Råmånanda Råya, as a true Vaiß√ava, always possessed natural humility, and thus when he was asked by Lord Caitanya he said,

råya kahe—ihå åmi kichui nå jånitumi yei kahåo, sei kahi åmi vå√î

tomåra çikßåya pa∂i yena çuka-på†hasåkßåt îçvara tumi, ke bujhe tomåra nå†ah®daye prera√a kara, jihvåya kahåo vå√î

ki kahiye bhåla-manda, kichui nå jåni

My Lord, I have no information of the transcendental world but I can simply speak that which You inspire me to utter. I am just like a parrot and I can repeat only that which You direct me to say. You are Yourself the Personality of Godhead and it is very difficult to under-stand what You do and how You play. The inspiration that You create in me and the vocabulary that You cause

to come out of my mouth are known to You. I do not know myself what I speak and what I think.

Lord Caitanya, again in His mood of a true student of truth, replied to Råmånanda Råya,

prabhu kahe—måyåvådî åmi ta’ sannyåsîbhakti-tattva nåhi jåni, måyåvåde bhåsi

sårvabhauma-sa∫ge mora mana nirmala haila‘k®ß√a-bhakti-tattva kaha,’ tå∫håre puchila

te∫ho kahe—åmi nåhi jåni k®ß√a-kathåsabe råmånanda jåne, te∫ho nåhi ethå

tomåra †håñi åilå∫a tomåra mahimå çuniyåtumi more stuti kara ‘sannyåsî’ jåniyåkibå vipra, kibå nyåsî, çüdra kene nayayei k®ß√a-tattva-vettå, sei ‘guru’ haya

‘sannyåsî’ baliyå more nå kariha vañcanak®ß√a-rådhå-tattva kahi’ pür√a kara mana

I am a Måyåvådî sannyåsî who is an atheist by nature. As such, I always float on My theory of måyå and Brahman without any entrance into devotional science. By the as-sociation of Sårvabhauma Bha††åcårya, I was lucky enough to get My heart purified. When I asked him to speak about the transcendental topics of the lîlå of Çrî K®ß√a and Çrî-matî Rådhårå√î, he asked Me to see you. He recommended you as the best among those who know this science and he regretted your absence at Purî. I have therefore come to you after hearing your glories from him. You are now praising Me because I am a sannyåsî, but it does not matter whether a person is a bråhma√a, a sannyåsî, or a çüdra.


A person is thoroughly competent to become a bona-fide spiritual master provided he knows the transcendental art and science of devotional activities. Therefore please do not try to avoid Me because I am a sannyåsî. Kindly fulfill My desire by fully describing the glories of the lîlå performed by Çrî K®ß√a and Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î.

Beyond Var√a and Åçrama

In the teachings of Lord Caitanya, especially in this perverted age of Kali, the passage mentioned above—wherein it says that it does not matter whether a person is a bråhma√a, sannyåsî, or a çüdra—is important. The qualification for a spiritual master is that he must be thoroughly conversant in the art and science of devotional service. This is revolutionary to the stereotyped, so-called spiritual mastership prevailing among the masses in India. The exploitative method is herein dealt a deadly blow and this truth is established by the devout followers of Çrî Caitanya Mahåprabhu’s conception.

The fact is that a person who is thoroughly conversant about Çrî K®ß√a can become a spiritual master either as an initiator or an instructor. It does not matter whether such a person is a bråhma√a, kßatriya, vaiçya, or a çüdra. Nor does it matter whether he is a brahmacårî, g®hastha, vånaprastha, or a sannyåsî. The only qualification of a spiritual master is his knowledge of the truth about Çrî K®ß√a. The qualification certainly does not rest on his particular situation in terms of the system of var√åçrama-dharma.

This order of Lord Caitanya, although apparently revolutionary to the non-progressive opportunists, is not at all against the injunc-tions of the scriptures. Following this principle, Lord Caitanya Himself took initiation from Çrîpåda ̂ çvara Purî, and Lord Nityånanda Prabhu

and Advaita Prabhu took initiation from Çrîpåda Mådhavendra Purî Gosvåmî. Rasikånånda Prabhu took initiation from Çrîla Çyåma-nanda Prabhu, who appeared in the family of a non-bråhma√a, and Çrî Ga∫ga-nåråya√a Cakravartî and Çrî Råmak®ß√a Bha††åcårya took initiation from Çrîla Narottama Dåsa ̌ håkura, who also happened to appear in the family of a non-bråhma√a. In the ancient literatures, it is written that there are no hereditary considerations for becom-ing a spiritual master.

In the Mahåbhårata and other historical literatures, there are innumerable examples of non-hereditary gurus and determi-nation of caste by quality and action rather than by birth. In the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (7.11.35), it is said that a person should be classified as belonging to a particular var√a or caste in terms of his qualification:

yasya yal-lakßa√aµ proktaµpuµso var√åbhivyañjakam

yad anyatråpi d®çyetatat tenaiva vinirdiçet

According to Bhagavad-gîtå, a really qualified bråhma√a possesses nine qualities, a kßatriya seven qualities, a vaiçya three qualities, and a çüdra only one quality. So, wherever the particular qualities are found or developed, the person possessing these particular qualities should be regarded as such. Accepting this formula from the scriptures, the Vaiß√ava accepts a spiritual master upon his becoming conversant in the knowledge of Çrî K®ß√a. The qualities of a bråhma√a appear naturally, and, as such, a thoroughly conversant spiritual master cannot be anything but a qualified bråhma√a. The false notion that without being a caste bråhma√a a person cannot become a spiritual master is therefore a misconception. A person born in the family of a


çüdra can become a spiritual master if he has acquired the necessary knowledge about Çrî K®ß√a.

Sometimes it is seen that a pure Vaiß√ava does not undergo the formalities of the system of var√åçrama-dharma by accepting the regulative principles thereof, but that does not mean that he is not a bråhma√a or a bona-fide spiritual master. The Vaiß√avas determine the var√a and åçrama of a person simply by their symptoms and not by their birth. Foolish people are unable to recognize such qualified Vaiß√avas, and as such Lord Caitanya distinctly emphasizes all the above mentioned points. There is no difference in essence between the regulative principles found in the Hari-bhakti-vilåsa and the statements of Lord Caitanya. The difference is concocted by the mental speculations of ignorant men.

Who is an Åcårya

Some foolish students have accepted the statements of Lord Cai-tanya conditionally. According to them, the spiritual master fully conversant with the science of K®ß√a, yet not born in a bråhma√a family, can be an instructing spiritual master, but not an initiating spiritual master. They do not know that there is hardly any differ-ence between the two classes of spiritual masters. According to them, a caste initiator or Caste Gosvåmî, by dint of his hereditary blood lineage, becomes the real spiritual master, while a person knowing all about Çrî K®ß√a can only become an instructor. They foolishly think that the position of the initiating spiritual master is greater than that of the instructing spiritual master. However, the matter is very clearly and conclusively discussed in the Caitanya-caritåm®ta (Ådi-lîlå 1.47):

çikßå-guruke ta’ jåni k®ß√era svarüpaantaryåmî, bhakta-çreß†ha—ei dui rüpa

One should know the instructing spiritual master to be the Personality of K®ß√a. Çrî K®ß√a manifests Himself as the Supersoul and as the greatest devotee of the Lord.

In the Manu-saµhitå, the qualification of an åcårya is described as follows: “A spiritual master is a twice-born bråhma√a able to train his disciple to instruct others on the Vedas.” In the Våyu Purå√a, the åcårya is described as follows: “One who knows the essence of the scriptures, establishes the truth of them, and conducts his activities according to the regulative principles of the scriptures is thus known as an åcårya.”

The åcårya or spiritual master is an empowered incarnation of the Personality of Godhead. He is not to be considered a plenary portion of Godhead, but at the same time the spiritual master is cer-tainly very near and dear to Godhead. The åcårya appears before the disciple as the bona-fide representative of Godhead. Such an åcårya has no duty other than to serve the Personality of Godhead and give shelter to the willing disciple on Godhead’s behalf.

If a person becomes a so-called spiritual master without being engaged wholly in the service of the Personality of Godhead, nobody should accept him as guru and his activity should not be recognized. A guru’s character must be fully representative of the Personality of Godhead, and this will be demonstrated by his full-time engagement in the service of Godhead. A real åcårya is sometimes envied by the sense-gratifying masses. However, the åcårya is a nondifferent exten-sion of the transcendental body of the Personality of Godhead. Anyone envying such a spiritual master will certainly suffer the consequence of being bereft of the Personality of Godhead’s blessings.


The spiritual master, although the eternal servitor of Lord Caitanya, is always to be respected as much as Lord Caitanya. The spiritual master is the personality who exhibits the nature of Lord Caitanya. It should never be concluded that the spiritual master is exactly one and the same with Godhead as the Måyåvådî philosophers think. The Vaiß√avas accept the spiritual master in terms of acintya-bhedåbheda-tattva, simultaneously one with and different from the Personality of Godhead.

Çikßå and Dîkßå

A spiritual master who gives instruction about the regulative prin-ciples of devotional service is called the çikßå-guru or the instructing spiritual master. A person who is not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead and is addicted to ill habits cannot be a spiri-tual master. The instructing spiritual master is of two kinds. They are: (1) a self-realized soul constantly engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead, and (2) a soul in pure consciousness who is constantly offering helpful directions favorable to the service of Godhead. Instruction in the service of the Lord is also of two kinds: (1) instruction on the object of service, and (2) instruction on the regulative principles of service.

The spiritual master who connects the living entity with the Personality of Godhead Çrî K®ß√a by initiation is called the dîkßå-guru or the initiating spiritual master. There is no difference between the initiating spiritual master and the instructing spiritual master. Both are the object of shelter for the disciple and both are åçraya vigraha or the personality under whose shelter the eternal relation-ship with Godhead is established and the process of approaching Godhead by service is learned. To think of one spiritual master as

purer than the other is offensive. The symbolic initiating spiritual master is Çrîla Sanåtana Gosvåmî, who initiates the devotees into their service to Madana-mohana. Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî is the instruct-ing spiritual master, who instructs the devotee with his verses in the Bhakti-råsam®ta-sindhu regarding the service of Çrî Çrî Rådhå-Govinda. Nobody should therefore think of Sanåtana Gosvåmî as being greater than Rüpa Gosvåmî or vice-versa. Both of them are our spiritual masters and engage us in the transcendental loving service of Godhead. When Lord Caitanya mentioned the word guru, spiritual master, He meant both the çikßå-guru and the dîkßå-guru and not just one of them.

Not a Vaiß√ava—Not a Guru

According to Hari-bhakti-vilåsa, a pure devotee of Godhead is never a çüdra. On the other hand, one who is not engaged in the service of the Personality of Godhead is definitely a çüdra, even though such a person may be born in the family of any var√a other than çüdra. A bråhma√a of the standard of var√åçrama-dharma, although expert in all the details of the six specific functions of the scriptures, can-not be accepted as a spiritual master if he is not a Vaiß√ava. But if an untouchable ca√∂åla (dog-eater) becomes a Vaiß√ava, he can be accepted as a spiritual master. A pure devotee of Godhead, although born in the family of a çüdra, can be the spiritual master of all the other three var√as.

Råmånanda Råya, being always conscious of his transcendental task, is never subjected to the deluding energy of Godhead. He could understand the feelings of Lord Caitanya, and by His will, Råmånanda wanted to proceed further. He said,


råya kahe—åmi—na†a, tumi—sütra-dhårayei mata nåcåo, taiche cåhi nåcibåra

mora jihvå—vî√å-yantra, tumi—vî√å-dhårî tomåra mane yei u†he, tåhåi uccåri

My Lord, I am a dancing doll and You are the wire-puller. Let me dance as you wish. My tongue is like the vî√å (a stringed musical instrument) and You are playing upon it. Kindly let me vibrate the sound that You desire to produce.

Råmånanda continued:

parama îçvara k®ß√a—svayaµ bhagavånsarva-avatårî, sarva-kåra√a-pradhånaananta vaiku√†ha, åra ananta avatåra

ananta brahmå√∂a ihå∫—sabåra ådhårasac-cid-ånanda-tanu, vrajendra-nandanasarvaiçvarya-sarvaçakti-sarvarasa-pür√a

îçvara˙ parama˙ k®ß√a˙, sac-cid-ånanda-vigraha˙ anådir ådir govinda˙, sarva-kåra√a-kåra√am

v®ndåvane ‘apråk®ta navîna madana’ kåma-gåyatrî kåma-bîje yå∫ra upåsana

Çrî K®ß√a is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes. He expands Himself in His innumer-able plenary portions known as incarnations. He is the fountainhead of innumerable Vaiku√†ha planets, innumer-able incarnations, and innumerable universes. He is the eternal form of transcendental existence, knowledge, and

bliss. He is known as the son of the King of Vraja. He is complete in Himself with all opulences, all powers, and all divine rasas. He is, as stated in the Brahma-saµhitå, the Supreme Primeval Lord and the cause of all causes. Çrî K®ß√a is the transcendental Cupid and the resident of Çrî V®ndåvana. He is worshiped by the transcendental sounds produced by the pure utterances of kåma-gåyatrî and kåma-bîja.

V®ndåvana Eternal

V®ndåvana, the residence of Çrî K®ß√a, is described in the Brahma-saµhitå (5.56):

çriya˙ kåntå˙ kånta˙ parama-purußa˙ kalpa-taravodrumå bhümiç cintåma√i-ga√a-mayî toyam am®tam

kathå gånaµ nå†yaµ gamanam api vaµçî priya-sakhî cid-ånandaµ jyoti˙ param api tad åsvådyam api ca

sa yatra kßîråbdhi˙ sravati surabhîbhyaç ca sumahån nimeßårdhåkhyo vå vrajati na hi yatråpi samaya˙ bhaje çveta-dvîpaµ tam aham iha golokam iti yaµ

vidantas te santa˙ kßiti-virala-cårå˙ katipaye

Everything is cognizant in the transcendental abode of V®ndåvana. Although appearing in the material world, it exists eternally, even after the annihilation of the material world. The Bhagavad-gîtå (8.20) confirms this statement. In V®ndåvana, the cowherd girls are all enjoyed by Çrî K®ß√a, and He is the only enjoyer there because He is the Supreme Person. The trees in V®ndåvana are all desire trees and the land is made of cintåma√i, desire-fulfilling touchstones. The


water of V®ndåvana is nectar, the words of conversation are them-selves sweet songs, walking in V®ndåvana is a dance, and the flute is eternally the constant companion of Çrî K®ß√a. The luminaries in the sky are transcendental and blissful. With this in mind, we should always try to understand V®ndåvana. In V®ndåvana, even a moment is never lost because no moment passes away, and, as such, there is not a limited conception of the future either.

The V®ndåvana-dhåma that we can experience in this mortal world is therefore a subject of deep study, and the significance of V®ndåvana is known only to the purest devotees. Let us therefore worship Çrî V®ndåvana.

The V®ndåvana-dhåma that manifests in the material world is not realized by our material senses, which are always prone to enjoy matter. When we are inspired by the proper attitude of transcendental service to Madana-mohana, we can know the actual V®ndåvana. Because it is very difficult to understand, Çrîla Narottama Dåsa ̌ håkura taught us by his actions to cry for the mercy of Lord Nityånanda Prabhu. By the mercy of Lord Nityånanda, we can be free from the consciousness of trying to enjoy this material world. This enjoying spirit is known as saµsåra-våsanå. When one is freed from the saµsåra-våsanå, one is freed from focusing entirely on eating, sleeping, fearing, and other sense-gratifying habits. When this is done, the mind of the devotee is purified from all infections of matter, and in such a state of mind one can see the true V®ndåvana-dhåma situated in this mortal world.

Cupid and the Kåma-Gåyatrî

The eternal Cupid, Çrî K®ß√a, is eternally distinct from the material Cupid. The material Cupid produces pleasure only temporarily,

but then lulls one into material dullness in just the next moment. But the eternal Cupid is ever-awakening and the transcendental pleasure is ever-increasing in ever-renewing developments. Such pleasure is eternally-existing and is not subject to the laws of mate-rial nature. The transient pleasure derived from the material Cupid is an enjoyable object to the materialists, but the transcendental Cupid is served eternally because He is Çrî K®ß√a, the Personality of Godhead Himself.

Gåyatrî means that which delivers one from the clutches of material hankerings. By chanting the transcendental kåma-gåyatrî: klîµ kåma-devåya vidmahe, pußpa-bå√åya dhîmahî, tan no ’na∫ga˙ pracodayåt—composed of twenty-four and a half letters, one is connected with the service of Madana-mohana (kåma-devåya). The nature of practical service is realized in connection with Govinda (pußpa-bå√åya). And in the perfect stage of service, one is connected with Gopînåtha (ana∫ga˙), the attractor of the cowherd girls.

The description of the kåma-gåyatrî in the Brahma-saµhitå is vivid. The kåma-gåyatrî was first chanted by Lord Brahmå before he created the material universes. His pure consciousness was awakened in the matter of his relationship, action, and ultimate goal in the service of the Personality of Godhead. When he became absorbed in the chanting of the transcendental sound of the kåma-gåyatrî, he acquired the ability to create the universe, and as such he composed the Brahma-saµhitå in praise of the glories of Lord Govinda, the Personality of Godhead.

The scientific arrangement of the kåma-gåyatrî is described in the Brahma-saµhitå. It says that the supramundane kåma-gåyatrî combined with the kåma-bîja (the nucleus of transcendental love) is the transcendental means of worship by which the eternally youthful transcendental Cupid, Madana-mohana, is served. Çrî Viçvanåtha Cakravartî ̌ håkura has explained the symbolic representation of the


kåma-bîja ‘kliµ,’ with reference to the B®had-gautamîya-tantra, as follows: K is K®ß√a, the supreme aggressive male, who possesses a form embodying full eternity, knowledge, and bliss; the letter I is Rådhå, the supreme receptive female, who is eternally the V®ndåvaneçvarî, or the most majestic Princess of Çrî V®ndåvana; the letter L is cel-ebrated as ånandåtmaka-prema-sukha, or the happiness of Rådhå and K®ß√a’s mutual ecstatic love in the form of pure blissful joy; and the Â is the expression of cumban-ånanda-mådhurya, or the ecstatic sweetness of Their most blissful kiss. When the kåma-bîja is added to the gåyatrî, it becomes the transcendental prayer for worshiping Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a.

Råmånanda Råya continued to speak: “Çrî K®ß√a has multi-energies, three of which are prominent. They are known as the internal energy, external energy, and marginal energy; or the po-tency of full knowledge of life, the potency of darkness or ignorance, and the potency of the living being.” In the Viß√u Purå√a, these potencies are also mentioned. The internal energy and the marginal energy are referred to as the superior energies while the external energy or the potency of darkness is called the inferior energy.

Hlådinî, Sandhinî, and Samvit

Çrî K®ß√a is originally a person full with transcendental existence, knowledge, and bliss. His internal energy or the potency of full knowledge is manifested in three diverse ways: hlådinî, sandhinî, and samvit, which represent transcendental bliss, existence, and knowledge respectively. In the Viß√u Purå√a, the same is confirmed as follows: “O Lord, in You who are all-pervading, the hlådinî, sandhinî, and samvit energies are all cognizant. Your parts and parcels, the living entities, have obtained the powers that are the

perverted forms of hlådinî, sandhinî, and samvit. They have done so under the influence of the three qualities of the external energy, because the living entities are prone to be influenced by the deluding energy known as måyå. However, in You these three energies are transcendental to the qualities of måyå.”

Who is Topmost

The hlådinî energy means the pleasure potency and by this energy, which is His own, Çrî K®ß√a becomes enthused and relishes His happy moods. The hlådinî energy is the cause of transcendental happiness for the devotees engaged in the transcendental service of Godhead. The hlådinî energy in Her very concentrated form is the embodiment of love of Godhead, which produces the emotions of transcendental bliss and knowledge. This transcendental love of Godhead in its mature state is named mahå-bhåva and Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is mahå-bhåva personified. She is thus described in the Ujjvala-nîlama√i (4.3) as follows:

tayor apy ubhayor madhyerådhikå sarvathådhikå

mahåbhåva-svarüpeyaµ gu√air ativarîyasî

Among the cowherd girls, Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Çrîmatî Candråvalî are the principal gopîs. Out of these two, Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is the topmost because Her position is that of mahå-bhåva or the highest stage of transcendental love of Godhead. No other cowherd girl possesses such high qualities as Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î.


premera ‘svarüpa-deha’—prema-vibhåvita k®ß√era preyasî-çreß†hå jagate vidita

Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is love of Godhead personified. She is made of pure love of Godhead. She is therefore celebrated in the universe as the most beloved of Çrî K®ß√a.

The Brahma-saµhitå (5.37) describes this as follows:

ånanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhåvitåbhiståbhir ya eva nija-rüpatayå kalåbhi˙goloka eva nivasty akhilåtma-bhüto

govindam ådi-purußaµ tam ahaµ bhajåmi

I worship the primeval Lord Govinda, who in His original form resides in His abode named Goloka along with the transcendental cowherd girls, who are always inspired by the feelings of transcendental bliss and knowledge. That Govinda is the all-pervading Godhead.

Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is further described by Çrîla Raghunåtha Dåsa Gosvåmî in his Premåmbhoja-maranda:

The identity of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is the personified service of Çrî K®ß√a to fulfill His every desire. Her associates such as Lalitå, Viçåkhå, and other friends are the symbols of Her expression of such intimate service. The manifestation of Her first youthfully blooming appearance is the result of Her using the cosmetic made out of the affection of Çrî K®ß√a. Her first (morning) bath is in the nectarean water of youthful energy. The gradual development of Her

youthful beauty is the nectar of Her bath in the afternoon. Her evening bath is completed in the water of full-grown youth, and thus the three stages of Her youthful growth is compared with Her bath thrice daily classified under the names of kåru√yåm®ta, tåru√yåm®ta, and låva√yåm®ta. This is the description of Her transcendental body.

Qualities of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î

As far as Her dress is concerned, it is described in two parts. One is made of Her youthful blush of modesty woven with çyåma or black colored threads turned into a bluish covering, and the second is called uttarîya which is red due to extreme attachment for the company of Çrî K®ß√a.

Her breasts are covered by Her sari in the form of affection and anger toward K®ß√a. Her personal beauty is compared to ku∫kuma (a special kind of cosmetic) and Her friendship with Her associates is compared to sandalwood pulp. The sweetness of Her calm sobriety is compared to camphor. These three ingredients decorating the body of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î—ku∫kuma, sandalwood pulp, and camphor—are ever-increasingly glowing as Her youthful beauty.

Outwardly, She is very clever and contradictory while at heart She is submissive. She speaks with cruel words to Her lover, yet Her heart is revealed by the flow of tears from Her eyes. This emotion is called dhîrådhîråtmaka. The degrees of this particular emotion vary in intensity and are called praghoßa, madhya, and mugdha respectively.

Her lipstick is the reddish color of Her lips due to Her deep attraction for Çrî K®ß√a. The outward symptoms of Her transcenden-tal sentiments such as cheerfulness, laughing, shivering, and crying


are Her constant companions. Her different qualities may be divided into four categories, namely: (1) qualities pertaining to Her person, (2) qualities pertaining to Her words, (3) qualities pertaining to Her mind, and (4) qualities pertaining to Her relationship with others. She possesses six qualities in regard to Her person, three in regard to Her words, two in regard to Her mind, and six in regard to Her relationship with others. The description of these different qualities is very vividly given in the Ujjvala-nîlama√i. To avoid expansion of this literature, we will not elaborate on this subject at this time.

Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î always bears in Her heart the sentiment of prema-vaicittya, a feeling of the fear of separation even when She is in the company of Her consort. This is due to Her being very soft-hearted. She is eternally a young girl between 16 and 20 years of age. This period is called kaiçora. She is always accustomed to moving along with Her hands resting on the shoulders of Her friends, the cowherd girls. She is always being lovingly attended by Her female friends and Her mind is always full of Her transcendental pastimes with Çrî K®ß√a. Her constant cheerfulness is the fragrance of Her body and She is constantly sitting on the bedstead of Her peculiar pride due to constantly remembering Çrî K®ß√a.

Constant remembrance of the name, fame, and qualities of Çrî K®ß√a are the earrings decorating Her body. The glories of Çrî K®ß√a’s name, fame, and qualities are always inundating Her speech. She keeps Çrî K®ß√a enlivened by the celestial drink of the incessant chanting of His qualities. In short, She is the reservoir of pure love of K®ß√a and She is full and complete with all the necessary qualifications in this regard. She is the perfect symbolic representation of pure love of Godhead. This fact is described in the Govinda-lîlåm®ta (11.122) in the form of questions and answers:

kå k®ß√asya pra√aya-janibhü˙ çrîmatî rådhikaikåkåsya preyasy anupama-gu√å rådhikaikå na cånyåjaihmyaµ keçe d®çi taralatå niß†huratvaµ kuce ‘syå våñchå-pürtyai prabhavati hare rådhikaikå na cånyå

Q: Who is the generating source of the love of Çrî K®ß√a?A: It is Çrîmatî Rådhikå only.Q: Who is qualitatively the dearest to Çrî K®ß√a?A: Again, it is Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and nobody else. Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î’s

hair is very curly, Her eyes are always moving to and fro, Her breasts are firm, and as such it is She alone who can fulfill all the desires of the all-attractive Hari.

yå∫ra saubhågya-gu√a våñche satyabhåmåyå∫ra †håñi kalå-vilåsa çikhe vraja-råmå

yå∫ra saundaryådi-gu√a våñche lakßmî-pårvatî yå∫ra pativratå-dharma våñche arundhatî yå∫ra sadgu√a-ga√ane k®ß√a nå påya påra

tå∫ra gu√a ga√ibe kemane jîva chåra

Råmånanda Råya concluded the descriptive qualities of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î by saying that She is envied by Satyabhåmå for Her unique fortune, and from Her alone the damsels of Vraja have learned the art of attracting a lover. Even Pårvatî and Lakßmî, who are super-excellently beautiful, desire to possess Her qualities and beauty and rise to the level of Her chastity. Even Çrî K®ß√a fails to calculate the qualities of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. Therefore, how is it possible for any mortal being to estimate Her qualities?


On hearing these statements by Råmånanda Råya, Lord Caitanya said:

prabhu kahe—jånilu∫ k®ß√a-rådhå-prema-tattvaçunite cåhiye du∫håra vilåsa-mahattva

I have come to know the essence of love between Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Çrî K®ß√a. Now I wish to hear something about Their transcendental pastimes.

Qualities of Çrî K®ß√a

Råmånanda Råya replied that Çrî K®ß√a is dhîra-lalita, a person who is very clever, always youthful, expert in joking, free from all anxieties, and very submissive to His beloved. His characteristics are manifested always in His transcendental erotic pastimes. Thus He is constantly engaged in enjoyment with Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, making a perfection of the frolicsome age of kaiçora. This stage of Çrî K®ß√a’s engagement is described by Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî as follows:

våcå sücita-çarvarî-rati-kalå-prågalbhyayå rådhikåµvrî∂å-kuñcita-locanåµ viracayann agre sakhînåm asau tad-vakßoruha-citra-keli-makarî-på√∂itya-påraµ gata˙ kaiçoraµ saphalî-karoti kalayan kuñje vihåraµ hari˙

Çrî K®ß√a perfectly enjoys the age of His adolescence by His pastimes with Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î in the bowers of V®ndåvana. He takes advantage of the cowherd girls by His expertise in the art of painting. He made Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î close Her eyes in shame before Her friends by speaking

words of Their lovemaking on the previous night. Then, while She was almost unconscious in a swoon, Çrî K®ß√a, showing the highest limit of cleverness, painted Her breasts with various types of makaras (mystical fish).

Topmost Love Affairs

On hearing these words, Lord Caitanya said:

prabhu kahe—eho haya, åge kaha åraråya kahe—ihå va-i buddhi-gati nåhi åra

“Yes, this is all right, but please go still further.” Råmånanda replied, “I think my intelligence is unable to go any further!” The stage that is yet to be described is prema-vilåsa-vivarta, the feeling of original attraction matured by the feeling of separation. “I do not know if such a description will be to Your satisfaction or not.” Saying this Råmånanda sang his own composition, the purport of which is as follows:

pahilehi råga nayana-bha∫ge bhelaanudina bå∂hala, avadhi nå gelanå so rama√a, nå håma rama√î

du∫hu-mana manobhava peßala jåni’e sakhi, se-saba prema-kåhinî

kånu-†håme kahabi vichurala jåni’nå kho∫jalu∫ dütî, nå kho∫jalu∫ ån

du∫hukeri milane madhya ta på∫ca-bå√aab sohi viråga, tu∫hu bheli dütî

su-purukha-premaki aichana rîti


O, when We first met each other, the attraction was awakened by simple sight, and such attraction knows no bounds in the course of its growth, because that attraction was due to Our personal inclination. Neither K®ß√a nor Myself is the cause of such spontaneous attraction but it awakened and pierced Our minds in the form of Cupid. We are now separated from one another. O My dear friend, if you think that Çrî K®ß√a has completely forgotten Me, tell Him that at the first sight We never required any ne-gotiation, neither did We search for any messages. Cupid himself was the agent of Our meeting. But alas, at this time, O My friend, you are doing the job of a messenger when Our attraction is more desirable than before.

This sort of feeling during separation of the lover and the beloved is called prema-vilåsa-vivarta—the topmost sentiment in loving affairs.

Here is another heartfelt description of the same prema-vilåsa-vivarta by Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî in his Ujjvala-nîlama√i:

rådhåyå bhavataç ca citta-jatunî svedair vilåpya kramåd

yuñjann adri-nikuñja-kuñjara-pate nirdhüta-bheda-bhramam

citråya svayam anvarañjayad iha brahmå√∂a-harmyodare

bhüyobhir nava-råga-hi∫gula-bharai˙ ç®∫gåra-kåru˙ k®tî

O, the king of the pirates (Çrî K®ß√a) resided in the bowers of Govardhana Hill! The Creator of the Universe, who is very much expert in the art of decoration, has melted the

casing of your heart and that of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î with the perspiration of transcendental symptoms and emo-tions, and thereby removed the misconception of duality. By such wonderful activities, He has painted both of Your hearts in order to play wonders upon the universe.

The explanation of the sentiment of prema-vilåsa-vivarta can only be realized in a pure state of consciousness freed from all material conceptions. This transcendental subject matter is not to be realized in a state of consciousness that is either grossly or subtly influenced by the material body and mind. External consciousness in relation to material intelligence and mind is different from the pure soul. The mellowness of this transcendental subject is relished by the senses engaged in the divine service of the Personality of Godhead.

Positive Consciousness

The pure state of consciousness enjoyed in the transcendental service of Godhead is only partially manifested in the impersonalists through their negation of material engagement. The impersonal negative conception is simply an antidote for material misconception, it has no positive standing. Such a state of consciousness may be some-what enlightening, but it cannot reach the positive consciousness of the soul in its pure state. Love of Godhead is a pure and positive transcendental subject. The attraction for matter is transient and inferior, and therefore it is best described as only passing for love. The apparent happiness of the material world is really unhappi-ness. However, the transcendental unhappiness experienced in the prema-vilåsa-vivarta has nothing to do with the unhappiness of the material conception.


In concluding this explanation of prema-vilåsa-vivarta, the highest stage of transcendental relationships, Lord Caitanya said,

prabhu kahe—‘sådhya-vastura avadhi’ ei haya

tomåra prasåde ihå jånilu∫ niçcaya‘sådhya-vastu’ ‘sådhana’ vinu keha nåhi påya

k®på kari’ kaha, råya, påbåra upåya

Now I understand the topmost limit of the ultimate goal of life. This has been possible by your grace. The goal can-not be reached without the endeavor of the devotee and the mercy of a pure devotee. Please therefore let me now know the means of reaching this topmost goal.

Råmånanda continued,

råya kahe—yei kahåo, sei kahi vå√îki kahiye bhåla-manda, kichui nå jåni

tribhuvana-madhye aiche haya kon dhîraye tomåra måyå-nå†e ha-ibeka sthira

mora mukhe vaktå tumi, tumi hao çrotåatyanta rahasya, çuna, sådhanera kathå

rådhå-k®ß√era lîlå ei ati gü∂hataradåsya-våtsalyådi-bhåve nå haya gocara

sabe eka sakhî-ga√era ihå∫ adhikårasakhî haite haya ei lîlåra vistårasakhî vinå ei lîlå puß†a nåhi haya

sakhî lîlå viståriyå, sakhî åsvådaya

sakhî vinå ei lîlåya anyera nåhi gatisakhî-bhåve ye tå∫re kare anugati

rådhå-k®ß√a-kuñjasevå-sådhya sei påyasei sådhya påite åre nåhika upåya

My Lord, I do not know the means of approaching the ultimate goal of life, but I speak to You whatever You desire me to speak. I do not know if I am speaking correctly or incorrectly. Nobody in the three worlds will not dance according to Your wish. In fact, You speak through my mouth, and it is wonderful that You are the audience as well. Therefore, let me say that the transcendental pastimes of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Çrî K®ß√a are extremely mysteri-ous and confidential. Even those who are ardently engaged in the service of dåsya, sakhya, or våtsalya rasas cannot enter into the essence of Their pastimes. Only the eternal associates of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, the cowherd girls of Vraja, have the authority to enter into this mystery because this transcendental pastime develops in their association. “The fulfillment of the sweetest of all transcendental pastimes depends on the activities of Çrî Rådhå’s female associates. It is they alone who expand these pastimes and relish their development. Therefore, if anyone wants to reach this stage of transcendental life, he has to do so in the ardent service of such female associates. Only one who follows this principle can become a servitor of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Çrî K®ß√a in the groves of Çrî V®ndåvana. There is no other alternative in this regard.


Deeper Happiness

In the Govinda-lîlåm®ta (10.17), the following description is given:

vibhur api sukha-rüpa˙ sva-prakåço ‘pi bhåva˙kßa√am api na hi rådhå-k®ß√ayor yå ®te svå˙

pravahati rasa-puß†iµ cid-vibhütîr iveça˙ çrayati na padam åsåµ ka˙ sakhînåµ rasa-jña˙

The transcendental pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a are as self-effulgent as the Personality of Godhead Himself. Yet as the Almighty Godhead is glorified by His manifestation of diverse energies and potencies, the pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a are glorified in the association of the sakhîs or female friends of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î.

The activities of the sakhîs are very wonderful. They do not desire any personal enjoyment with Çrî K®ß√a but become happy only by uniting the Divine Couple. By uniting Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î with Çrî K®ß√a, the sakhîs enjoy a thousand times more happiness than they would derive by direct contact with Çrî K®ß√a. This is another mystery of the transcendental pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a.

Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is the desire creeper embracing the desire tree of Çrî K®ß√a, and the sakhîs are the leaves, twigs, and flowers of that desire creeper. So naturally when the desire creeper is watered at the root by the nectarean water of the pastimes of Çrî K®ß√a, the leaves and twigs and flowers of the desire creeper are automatically nourished. The sakhîs therefore do not require any separate ar-rangement for their enjoyment. On the other hand, the happiness

of the flowers and leaves is greater than the original creeper. This is explained in the Govinda-lîlåm®ta (10.16):

sakhya˙ çrî-rådhikåyå vraja-kumuda-vidhor hlådinî-nåma-çakte˙

såråµça-prema-vallyå˙ kisalaya-dala-pußpådi-tulyå˙ sva-tulyå˙siktåyåµ k®ß√a-lîlåm®ta-rasa-

nicayair ullasantyåm amußyåµ jåtollåså˙ sva-sekåcchata-gu√amadhikaµ santi yat tan na citram

There is no utility in watering the leaves and flowers of a tree without watering the root of the tree. The leaves and flowers are automatically nourished by watering the root of the tree. Similarly, without the unity of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Çrî K®ß√a, there is no happiness for the sakhîs. When Rådhå and K®ß√a are united, the happiness of the sakhîs is thousands and thousands of times greater than when they are personally associating with K®ß√a.

Great Mystery

There is another mystery within these transcendental pastimes, and it is that Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î arranges for the uniting of Her associates with Çrî K®ß√a, although the sakhîs have no such desire. By doing this, Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î enjoys more happiness than by Her personally uniting with Çrî K®ß√a and for this reason the sakhîs accept this arrangement for Her happiness. By all these mutual


arrangements of Çrî Rådhå and the sakhîs, Çrî K®ß√a becomes still more happy, and therefore the whole arrangement causes Rådhå and K®ß√a to become even more enlivened in their transcendental pastimes.

The natural divine love of the cowherd girls for Çrî K®ß√a is never to be considered as or compared to material lust. The two, love and lust, are explained in similar terms because there appears to be a similarity between them, but the Bhakti-råsam®ta-sindhu (1.2.285) explains otherwise:

premaiva gopa-råmå√åµkåma ity agamat prathåmity uddhavådayo ‘py etaµ

våñchanti bhagavat-priyå˙

People customarily describe and understand the love of the cowherd girls for Çrî K®ß√a in the light of mundane lust, but in fact it is different because such a standard of love for Çrî K®ß√a was desired even by the highest devotees like Uddhava and others.

Mundane lust is meant for one’s personal enjoyment—transcen-dental love of Godhead is meant for the happiness of the Supreme Personality Çrî K®ß√a. There is therefore a wide gulf of difference between the two.

The cowherd girls of Vraja had no desire for self-satisfaction by personally contacting Çrî K®ß√a, yet they were always ready to render all varieties of services for the benefit of Çrî K®ß√a. Anything short of this spirit amounts to lust. As confirmed in the Çrîmad Bhågavatam, mundane desire is mundane lust. In the Vedas, the three modes of nature—goodness, passion, and ignorance—are

described in different terms according to one’s desire for different benefits—followers, sons, wealth, and so on. All these are but different categories of mundane lust. Such lust is presented in the flowery language of the Vedas as religiosity. Lust is called by different names: altruism, karma-kå√∂a, fruitive work, social obligations, the desire for liberation, family tradition, affection for kinsmen, and fear of chastisement and rebuke from relatives. All these are different forms of lust passing in the name of religiosity. There is nothing in these activities except one’s own sense gratification.

Surrender

In the Bhagavad-gîtå, the final instruction is to give up all varieties of religion and follow the Personality of Godhead without reservation. In the beginning of the Bhagavad-gîtå, the Personality of Godhead proclaimed that He descends to the earth whenever there is a rise of irreligious activities. He does so to protect the faithful, eradicate the unbelievers, and reestablish the principles of religiosity.

The two declarations mentioned above seem contradictory. The Personality of Godhead descends on earth to protect religiosity, but advises Arjuna to give up all varieties of religion. The explanation, however, is very clear. Complete surrender unto the will of the Per-sonality of Godhead without any reservation is the factual principle of religiosity. All other activities, such as altruism, are not in fact religious. As such, the Personality of Godhead advises Arjuna to give them up. They are all different forms of mundane lust, gorgeously presented in the dress of religiosity.

Therefore, a transcendental conviction of feeling oneself to be the eternal servitor of Godhead and following this convic-tion means to follow the orders of Çrî K®ß√a as He has advised in


the Bhagavad-gîtå. Whenever there is the feeling that one is the enjoyer of one’s own activities, such actions are to be understood as different forms of mundane lust.

To surrender fully unto the desire of Çrî K®ß√a does not turn one into a lifeless machine without any impetus. Rather, the feeling of being eternally engaged in the service of Çrî K®ß√a gives one tran-scendental impetus for carrying out the will of Godhead through the divine medium of the spiritual master, who is identical in purpose with Çrî K®ß√a. This is only possible when one is inspired by pure love of Godhead called vyavasåyåtmikå-buddhi, supramundane intelligence that assures success in spiritual activities.

Imitators

The artificial way of decorating oneself in the dress of a sakhî, as is done by a class of mundaners called sakhî-bhekî or gaurå∫ga-någarî, is not inspired by supramundane intelligence. Such artificial decoration of the body, which is meant for annihilation, certainly cannot please the transcendental senses of Çrî K®ß√a. It is therefore a mundane wishful desire of the less intelligent, easy-going pseudo-devotees, and as such it cannot reach the transcendental stage of the cowherd girls of Vraja.

We have already discussed in detail that the forms of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Her various female associates called the sakhîs are composed of divine substance and their activities are therefore meant for the service of Çrî K®ß√a. Their activities are never to be compared with the superficial activities in the material world. Çrî K®ß√a is the all-attractive Personality of Godhead known as the enchanter of the universe, and Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is known as the enchanter of the

enchanter of the universe. The imitative endeavors of a mundaner to become a sakhî is strictly forbidden by Çrîla Jîva Gosvåmî in his com-mentary on the Bhakti-råsam®ta-sindhu. The real devotee may thus be warned not to imitate the dress of a sakhî as a means of bhajana or worship. Such activity is offensive and strictly forbidden.

The transcendental feelings of the cowherd girls mentioned in the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.31.19) are as follows:

yat te sujåta-cara√åmburuhaµ staneßubhîtå˙ çanai˙ priya dadhîmahi karkaçeßutenå†avîm a†asi tad vyathate na kiµ svit

kürpådibhir bhramati dhîr bhavad-åyußåµ na˙

O my dear, Your lotus feet, which are very soft and are placed on our hard breasts, are now treading over the forest of V®ndåvana and thereby receiving pain on account of stepping on the fine particles of stone. This fact is giving us anxiety because You are our very life.

This example is the standard sentiment of the cowherd girls of Vraja and demonstrates that their very life is meant for the service of Çrî K®ß√a without any tinge of an idea for sense gratification.

There are 64 different items of regulative devotional service. The devotee gradually develops the right to enter into the transcen-dental service of Godhead by implicit faith in the observance of the regulative principles. The intense eagerness to serve like the eternal associates of Çrî K®ß√a, such as the cowherd girls, gives the devotee the right to serve Çrî K®ß√a in that way. For this ardent service of Godhead, one is required to give up the practice of the mundane regulative principles of var√åçrama-dharma.


Rågånuga

In the transcendental abode of Vraja, the eternal residence of Çrî K®ß√a, the inhabitants serve Çrî K®ß√a in different mellows of lov-ing service. Raktaka pårßada serves in the mellow of dåsya-prema. Madhuma∫gala-sakhå, Çrîdåmå, and Sudåmå serve in the mood of sakhya-prema, while Nanda and Yaçodå serve Çrî K®ß√a in the mel-low of våtsalya-prema. Any devotee who is attracted by any of the transcendental moods of service will obtain their desired goal at the time of perfection. A vivid example of this is the çrutis (the personi-fied Upanißads). The çrutis were convinced that the transcendental loving service of Çrî K®ß√a is not obtainable without following in the footsteps of the cowherd girls in Vraja. At that time, they adopted the spontaneous service of rågånuga in pursuance of the footsteps of the gopîs with the aim of achieving prema for the son of the King of Vraja.

The çrutis, who obtained the transcendental service of Godhead by following in the footsteps of the gopîs, are described in the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.87.23):

nibh®ta-marun-mano ‘kßa-d®∂ha-yoga-yujo h®di yanmunaya upåsate tad arayo ‘pi yayu˙ smara√å†

striya uragendra-bhoga-bhuja-da√∂a-vißakta-dhiyo vayam api te samå˙ samad®ço ‘∫ghri-saroja-sudhå˙

The enemies of the Personality of Godhead, who remem-bered Him constantly with an inimical feeling, entered into the impersonal Brahman effulgence, which is also obtained by the empiric philosophers and mystics by the process of controlling the mind and the senses strictly by yoga practice and meditating upon the impersonal

Brahman. But the cowherd girls, the damsels of Vraja, were hypnotized by the poisonous beauty of the snake-like arms of Çrî K®ß√a, and thus they obtained the nectar of His lotus feet. We have also followed the path of the cowherd girls and are thus drinking the nectarean juice of the lotus feet of the Personality of Godhead.

The purport of this verse is that the çrutis followed the path of the gopîs and when they reached perfection they obtained bodies like those of the cowherd girls. After obtaining such transcendental bodies, they were able to enjoy the company of Çrî K®ß√a in spiritual bliss.

Changing the Body

Advancement of material science in the field of medical surgery has made it possible to change the body of a human being from male to female or from female to male by surgical operation. The desire to change the body in this way is a kind of mundane lust. This lusty idea is a perverted reflection of the transcendental idea of changing the body as in the case of the çrutis. The idea of changing the body from one form to another is quite possible even by way of the mate-rialistic mind. Therefore, by spiritual development the possibility of changing the body for the better is even greater.

The conclusion of the above-mentioned spiritual perfection is described in the Çrîmad Bhågavatam (10.9.21):

nåyaµ sukhåpo bhagavån dehinåµ gopikå-suta˙

jñåninåµ cåtma-bhütånåµ yathå bhaktimatåm iha


Çrî K®ß√a, who is the son of Çrîmatî Yaçodå-devî, is more easily available to persons engaged in spontaneous devotional service than to persons engaged in empiric philosophical speculations.

One who therefore accepts the example set by the cowherd girls of Vraja and always meditates upon the transcendental pastimes of Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a day and night while living in Vraja and serving Them there will ultimately obtain the body of a sakhî and directly serve Rådhå and K®ß√a.

An Eternal Life of Ecstasy

The supramundane body is transcendental to the gross and subtle bodies of the living entity and it is suitable for rendering loving service to Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a. Transmigration of the soul from one body to another takes place in material existence according to the living entity’s fruitive activities, which are carried out in relation to the three modes of nature. In the Bhagavad-gîtå, the transmigration of the soul is vividly described. The mind carries the soul to another body just as the air carries aromas. At the time of death, one’s state of mind is very important in this connection. The mind is prone to be absorbed in the particular kind of thinking, feeling, and willing that it has always done in relation to its daily activities.

The state of the mind at the time of leaving the body depends on the modes of thinking, feeling, and willing. Devotees are advised to think continuously, day and night, about the transcendental pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a, so that their minds will be absorbed with that type of thinking, feeling, and willing. As such, it will be

possible for the living entity to enter the kingdom of Rådhå and K®ß√a to directly associate with Them for rendering loving service in the particular sentiment that he cultivated continually during his life.

In material existence, the mind is always conditioned to think about material enjoyment. Therefore, the mind has to be engaged in contemplating the transcendental subject matter that has no connection with the three modes of nature. The divine pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a and the activities of the cowherd girls of Vraja are above the three qualities of material nature. When the mind is engaged in thinking, feeling, and willing in connection with such transcendental subjects, the living entity is sure to ultimately get the service of Rådhå and K®ß√a.

The deva-vratå, people who are situated in the mode of good-ness, worship the demigods such as Brahmå and Çiva and attain the abodes of such demigods. The pit®-vratås, people who are situated in the mode of passion for enjoying the material world and who wor-ship the pit®s, forefathers who have passed away, attain the different abodes of the pit®s. The bhütejyås, animal and ghost worshipers, who are situated in the mode of darkness and ignorance, also attain their respective destinations in the material world. But the devotees of the Personality of Godhead Çrî K®ß√a attain His supreme abode, which is eternal. No one ever returns after attaining that abode.

All other spheres of attainment are considered temporary abodes because they are either vanquished after a limited duration of time or the residents of those abodes have to come back again to this earth after they have exhausted the results of their previous pious activities. As far as the bhütejyås are concerned, they are doomed to hover on this earth or in even lower regions of the universe.

Lord Caitanya offers all people in the age of Kali, who are by nature very unfortunate in every respect, the highest benefit of life. As such, those who take this opportunity will be considered the most


fortunate souls. By following the principles of devotional activities as propounded by Råmånanda Råya under the order of Lord Cait-anya, every human being can attain the eternal life of ecstasy in the company of the Personality of Godhead in different transcendental rasas as are enjoyed by the denizens of Vraja or Goloka V®ndåvana, the eternal abode of Çrî K®ß√a.

No Entrance for Lakßmî-devî

Without pursuing the footsteps of the gopîs, no one can obtain the spiritual body of a sakhî and render service to Çrî K®ß√a, even if the devotional service is rendered in the mood of opulence. A vivid example of this is Çrî Lakßmî-devî, who desired entrance into the transcendental pastimes of the råsa-lîlå of Çrî K®ß√a. However, because Lakßmî-devî did not follow in the footsteps of the cowherd girls of Vraja, she did not get entrance.

This statement of Råmånanda Råya caused Lord Caitanya to melt in complete ecstasy and thus He embraced him in His arms. Both Råmånanda Råya and Lord Caitanya were overflowing with tears of transcendental joy. The whole night was thus passed in divine conversation, and when the morning came, both Råmånanda and Lord Caitanya went about their respective engagements.

As Lord Caitanya was leaving, Råmånanda fell at his feet and fervently requested Him in the following way:

‘more k®på karite tomåra ihå∫ ågamanadina daça rahi’ çodha mora duß†a mana

tomå vinå anya nåhi jîva uddhårite tomå vinå anya nåhi k®ß√a-prema dite’

You have come here to bestow Your Divine Grace upon me; therefore, please remain here for at least ten days and see to it that my polluted mind is corrected. There is no one in the world but You who can deliver the fallen souls and there is no one in the world except You who can bestow upon them the transcendental mellowness of love of Godhead.

Lord Caitanya replied,

prabhu kahe—åilå∫a çuni’ tomåra gu√a k®ß√a-kathå çuni, çuddha karåite mana

yaiche çunilu∫, taiche dekhilu∫ tomåra mahimå rådhå-k®ß√a-premarasa-jñånera tumi sîmå

daça dinera kå-kathå yåvat åmi jîba’tåvat tomåra sa∫ga chå∂ite nåriba

nîlåcale tumi-åmi thåkiba eka-sa∫ge sukhe go∫åiba kåla k®ß√a-kathå-ra∫ge

I came to you after hearing of your reputation of pure devotion in order to purify My mind by hearing the transcendental message of Çrî K®ß√a. I have just verified My information about you upon seeing and hearing you. You are the zenith of transcendental knowledge regard-ing the pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a. As such, it will not be possible for Me to ever leave your company, what to speak of after ten days or so. We shall both live at Nîlåcala (Jagannåtha Purî) together and pass our time in perfect happiness always talking about the subject of the divine pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a.


Perfect Questions and Answers

Thus Råmånanda Råya and Lord Caitanya separated from one another in the morning and in the evening they met again. The meeting took place in a secluded area and the talks began in the same man-ner of question and answer, with Lord Caitanya questioning and Råmånanda answering.

Q: What is the essence of learning in the field of educational activities?

A: There is no superior quality of learning than the knowledge pur-sued in regard to devotional service to Çrî K®ß√a.

Q: What is the highest fame?A: The highest fame of a living being is a reputation of being a

devotee of Çrî K®ß√a.Q: What is the most valuable possession of life among all the assets

of the world?A: One who has transcendental love for Rådhå and K®ß√a is to be

considered the richest person in the world.Q: What is the most grievous type of sorrow among all the sorrows

and distresses of life?A: There is no greater type of sorrow than the unhappiness created

by separation from devotees of Çrî K®ß√a.Q: Who is most perfectly liberated among all the liberated souls of

the universe?A: One who has transcendental love for Çrî K®ß√a is the greatest of

all liberated souls.Q: What is the best song that a person can sing?A: The essence of all songs is the singing of the transcendental glories

of Rådhå and K®ß√a.Q: What is the highest benefit of life that a person can seek?

A: There is no greater gain in life than the association of devotees engaged in the service of Çrî K®ß√a.

Q: Who is to be remembered constantly by the living being?A: One should always think of the transcendental name, fame, and

qualities of Çrî K®ß√a.Q: What should the living being meditate on?A: The most perfect type of meditation is to meditate upon the lotus

feet of Rådhå and K®ß√a.Q: Where should the living being reside exclusively, leaving all other

residential quarters?A: One should live in V®ndåvana, where the transcendental pastimes

of råsa-lîlå are perpetually performed.Q: What should the living entity hear about, leaving aside all other

topics?A: The reciprocal loving pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a are the only

subject matter for aural reception by the living entity.Q: What is the most worshipable object among all those to be

worshiped?A: The topmost worshipable object is the combined names of Rådhå

and K®ß√a.Q: Where do persons go who aspire after liberation or sense enjoy-

ment respectively?A: The first person attains a body that is immovable (such as a stone

or mountain), and the other attains a celestial body. (According to Gautama Buddha, liberation means to become like a stone, without any sense perception. That is the culmination of Bud-dhist philosophy.)

The above questions and answers contain the essence of all tran-scendental knowledge confirmed in the authoritative scriptures.


Most Learned Fellow

The gradual development of educational activities should be estimated in the following manner: brahma-vidya or knowledge of the spirit soul is superior to the knowledge of the physical world; knowledge about the Personality of Godhead is superior to the knowledge of the impersonal Brahman or spirit; and knowledge of Çrî K®ß√a and His pastimes is superior to the knowledge of the Personality of Godhead Viß√u.

In the Çrîmad Bhågavatam, it is said that the highest work is that which will satisfy the senses of Hari, and the highest education is to teach about Him. One who has learned the nine different processes of devotional service—hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the Lord’s lotus feet, worshiping, praying, becoming a servant, embrac-ing the Lord in friendship, and fully surrendering unto Him—is to be considered the most learned fellow.

Fame

The fame a person receives because of being a devotee of Çrî K®ß√a is described in the authoritative scripture Garu∂a Purå√a:

kalau bhågavataµ nåma durlabhaµ naiva labhyatebrahma-rudra-padotk®ß†aµ

guru√å kathitaµ mama

I have heard from my spiritual master that in the age of Kali it will be very difficult to find a person who is famous

because of being a devotee of Çrî K®ß√a, although such a position is better than the position of Brahmå or Çiva.

Çrî Nårada Muni has said,

janmåntara-sahasreßu yasya syåd buddhir îd®çîdåso ‘haµ våsudevasya

sarvål lokån samuddharet

A person who considers himself the eternal servant of the Personality of Godhead Våsudeva (a conception that is achieved after thousands and thousands of births) can deliver all the fallen souls in material existence.

In the Bhagavad-gîtå, it is also confirmed that a person who is actually a mahåtmå or great soul, having thoroughly understood that Våsudeva is the Lord of all the universes, is very rarely found. After many, many births of acquiring knowledge, he surrenders unto Çrî K®ß√a, the Personality of Godhead.

In the Ådi Purå√a, it is said that the liberated souls, including the çrutis, follow the pure devotees of Çrî K®ß√a. In the B®han-nåradîya Purå√a it is stated:

adyåpi ca muni-çreß†hå brahmådyå api devatå˙

Until now even the best among the munis (sages) or the demigods like Brahmå and others do not understand the influence of the devotee who has completely surrendered to the transcendental service of Viß√u.


In the Garu∂a Purå√a it is stated:

bråhma√ånåµ sahasrebhya˙ satra-yåjî viçißyatesatrayåjî-sahasrebhya˙ sarva vedånta-påraga˙ sarva-vedånta-vit-ko†yå viß√u-bhakto viçißyate vaiß√avånåµ sahasrebhya ekånty eko viçißyate

Out of many, many thousands of bråhma√as, one who is expert in the performance of sacrifices is considered the best. Out of many thousands of such experts in the performance of sacrifices, one who has surpassed all the knowledge in the Vedas is considered the best. Out of all those persons who have excelled in the studies of the Vedas, a person who is a devotee of Viß√u, the Personality of Godhead, is considered the best. And out of many, many thousands of such worshipers of Viß√u, one who is a pure Vaiß√ava or an exclusive devotee of Çrî K®ß√a is the best because only he will attain the highest abode called Param-dhåma, which is described in the Bhagavad-gîtå by Çrî K®ß√a Himself.

In the Çrîmad Bhågavatam, it is also said that the purpose of acquiring knowledge of all the çrutis and of endeavoring in all the other ways of spiritual culture is that one will become addicted to the process of hearing the transcendental qualities, name, and fame of Mukunda (Çrî K®ß√a).

In the prayers of the nåråya√a-lîlå, it is said that a pure devotee does not desire to be situated even in the position of a Brahmå if he is devoid of the devotional service of Godhead. Rather, the pure devotee prefers to become even a small insect if such a life is engaged in the devotional service of Godhead.

All Are Not Equal

The fame of Prahlåda Mahåråja as a devotee of Godhead is described in the Skanda Purå√a by Lord Çiva: “Not even I can know Çrî K®ß√a as He is. Only the devotees know Him, and of all the devotees, Prahlåda is the best.”

In the B®had-bhågavatåm®ta, Sanåtana Gosvåmî says that above Prahlåda, the På√∂avas are still better devotees, and the Yadus are better than the På√∂avas. Out of all the Yadus, Uddhava is the best devotee, and the damsels of Vraja are even better than Uddhava. Therefore, they are the topmost of all devotees.

In the B®had-våmana, Brahmå spoke to the ®ßis as follows:

ßaß†i-varßa-sahasrå√imayå taptaµ tapa˙ purå

nanda-gopa-vraja-strî√åµpåda-re√üpalabdhaye

I tried my best by undergoing austerity for 60 thousand years in order to be able to get the feet-dust of the damsels of Vraja, the cowherd boys, and King Nanda. Yet I did not get the blessings of the dust of their feet. Therefore, I think that myself, Çiva, and Lakßmî are not at all equal to them.

In the Ådi Purå√a, the Personality of Godhead said,

na tathå me priyatamo brahmå rudraç ca pårthivana ca lakßmîr na cåtmå ca

yathå gopî-jano mama


There is nobody dearer to Me than the cowherd damsels of Vraja—not even Brahmå, Çiva, Lakßmî, or even My own Self.

Follow Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî

Among all the inhabitants of Vraja, Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î is the dearest of all. Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî is the most confidential servitor of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, and is therefore very dear to Lord Caitanya. The followers of the footsteps of Çrîla Rüpa Gosvåmî are known as the Rüpånuga devotees of Çrî K®ß√a. Such Rüpånuga devotees are eulogized in the Çrî Caitanya-candråm®ta (127) as follows:

åståµ vairågya-ko†ir bhavatuçama-dama-kßånti-maitry-ådi-ko†is

tattvånudhyåna-ko†ir bhavatuvå vaiß√avî bhakti-ko†i˙

ko†y-aµço ‘py asya na syåt tad apigu√a-ga√o ya˙ svata˙-siddha åste

çrîmac-caitanyacandra-priya-cara√a-nakha-jyotir åmoda-bhåjåm

Persons who are attached to the rays of the effulgent nails on the toes of the lotus feet of the beloved and dear devotees of Lord Caitanya are by themselves fully qualified with all transcendental qualities. Even powerful renunciation, equanimity, sense control, fortitude, medi-tation, and similar other great qualities that are found in the devotees of Viß√u do not compare to even one-mil-lionth of a part of their transcendental attributes.

Real Wealth

The general masses who are driven by the dictates of the mind for material enjoyment, desire to accumulate more and more wealth, which is the medium for obtaining their sense gratification. However, by pure transcendental intellect, one can objectively assess the value of material wealth and see that there is no wealth that can be compared with the value of love for Rådhå and K®ß√a. Here are some quotations in support of the above conception from the çåstra:

kim alabhyaµ bhagavatiprasanne çrî-niketanetathåpi tat-parå råjan

na hi våñchanti kiñcana

Although everything is available for devotees of the Personality of Godhead, they do not desire anything for their own sense enjoyment. (Bhåg. 10.39.2)

måm anårådhya du˙khårta˙ ku†umbåsakta-månasa˙sat-sa∫ga-rahito martyo v®ddha-sevå-paricyuta˙

Conditioned souls are always unhappy in their attach-ment for relatives as they do not worship Me and are thus bereft of the association of pure devotees and service unto Me.

sva-jivanådhikaµ prårthyaµçrî-viß√u-jana-sa∫gata˙


vicchedena kßa√aµ cåtra na sukhåµçaµ labhåmahe

The association of the devotees of Viß√u is worth more than my life, because being detached from such assoc-iation for a moment, I do not feel even the slightest trace of happiness. (B®had-bhågavatåm®ta 1.5.44)

muktånåm api siddhånåµnåråya√a-paråya√a˙

sudurlabha˙ praçåntåtmå kotißv api mahåmune

Out of millions of great sages who are liberated souls, it is very difficult to find a sober devotee of Lord Nåråya√a. (Bhåg. 6.14.5)

anugrahåya bhütånåµmånußaµ deham åsthita˙

bhajate tåd®çî˙ krî∂å yå˙ çrutvå tat-paro bhavet

The Personality of Godhead, in order to bestow mercy upon His devotees, appears on this earth and manifests His pastimes so that the devotees may be attracted to Him and His pastimes. (Bhåg. 10.33.37)

ata åtyantikaµ kßemaµp®cchåmo bhavato ‘naghå˙

saµsåre ‘smin kßa√årdho ‘pi sat-sa∫ga˙ çevadhir n®√åm

O most auspicious one, I am asking You for the highest benediction. I wish to have the association of Your pure devotees because the association of Your devotees for even a moment is the most valuable gain in this world. (Bhåg. 11.2.28)

tasmåt sarvåtmanå råjan hari˙ sarvatra sarvadå

çrotavya˙ kîrtitavyaç ca smartavyo bhagavån n®√åm

O King, the Personality of Godhead Hari is to be heard, glorified, and remembered by all human beings at all times, in all places, and in all circumstances. (Bhåg. 2.2.36)

tasmåd ekena manasåbhagavån såtvatåµ pati˙çrotavya˙ kîrtitavyaç ca

dhyeya˙ püjyaç ca nityadå

The Personality of Godhead, who is the sustainer of the pure devotees, is to be heard and glorified, worshiped and meditated upon with rapt attention at all times. (Bhåg. 1.2.14)

åsåm aho cara√a-re√u-jußåm ahaµ syåµ v®ndåvane kim api gulma-lataußadhînåm

yå dustyajaµ svajanam årya-pathaµ ca hitvå bhejur mukunda-padavîµ çrutibhir vim®gyåm


My desire is to become a blade of grass or a creeper that grows in the forest of Vraja. In that way, it will be possible for me to receive the dust of the feet of those great personalities who have worshiped the lotus feet of the great liberator, Mukunda. The dust of the feet of these great personalities is sought after even by the çrutis. Leaving aside the affection of their own kith and kin, which is ordinarily impossible to give up, the gopîs of Vraja have sacrificed everything for the satisfaction of Çrî K®ß√a. (Bhåg. 10.47.61)

vikrî∂itaµ vraja-vadhübhir idaµ ca viß√o˙çraddånvito ’nuç®√uyåd atha var√ayed ya˙

bhaktiµ paråµ bhagavati pratilabhya kåmaµ h®d-rogam åçv apahinoty acire√a dhîra˙

A person who with a reverential attitude hears the trans-cendental pastimes of Çrî K®ß√a with the damsels of Vraja from the mouth of a pure devotee and then describes those pastimes accordingly, achieves the supramundane loving service of Godhead within no time and thereby drives away mundane lusty desires for sense gratification from his heart. (Bhåg. 10.33.40)

etåvån eva loke ’sminpuµsåµ dharma˙ para˙ sm®ta˙

bhakti-yogo bhagavati tan-nåma-graha√ådibhi˙

The highest duty of every human being in this world is to be engaged in the loving service of the Personality of Godhead and to chant His Holy Name. (Bhåg. 6.3.22)

Dry, speculative knowledge is compared to the bitter fruits of the nima tree. This fruit is unworthy of human consumption but is quite suitable for those persons who, like the crows, are situated in a rough, argumentative way of life. Their dry philosophical specula-tions sound like the crowing of crows.

On the other hand, the newly-bloomed buds of the mango fruit, which are sweet to taste and completely palatable, are compared to the transcendental loving service of Godhead. As such, this fruit is tasted by the pure devotees of Çrî K®ß√a, who are compared to the parrots who are always delivering sweet sounds. Dry philosophical speculation is the only gain of the unfortunate jñånî empiric philoso-pher, and the juicy nectarean taste of the loving service of Godhead is the drink of the fortunate devotees.

Thus Lord Caitanya and Råmånanda Råya again passed the whole night in the transcendental joy of talking about Çrî K®ß√a and His pastimes. Sometimes they wept and sometimes they danced while absorbed in ecstatic trance, and in this way the night came to an end. In the morning, both Råmånanda and Lord Caitanya parted to attend to their respective duties, and in the evening they again met together as on the previous night.

Enlightening the Heart

After talking for a few minutes, Råmånanda fell at the feet of Lord Caitanya and submitted his heartfelt realization:

eta tattva mora citte kaile prakåçanabrahmåke veda yena pa∂åila nåråya√a

antaryåmî îçvarera ei rîti haye båhire nå kahe, vastu prakåçe h®daye


My Lord, You have enlightened my heart with truths and made me able to express them as the fundamental knowledge of Rådhå and K®ß√a, the essence of divine love. Previously, you similarly enlightened the heart of Brahmå with Vedic knowledge. The Lord, who is the constant companion of the living being as the Supersoul, does all this out of His unbounded causeless mercy. He does not appear face-to-face outwardly, but He enlightens one from within.

In the Bhagavad-gîtå, this is confirmed. The Personality of Godhead says that in order to show special favor to His devotee, He enlightens the heart of the devotee and drives away the darkness of ignorance by the illumination of transcendental knowledge. And in the very beginning of the beautiful Çrîmad Bhågavatam (1.1.1), the follow-ing important statement is made:

janmådy asya yato ’nvayåd itarataç cårteßv abhijña˙ svarå†tene brahma h®då ya ådi-kavaye muhyanti yat süraya˙tejo-våri-m®dåµ yathå vinimayo yatra tri-sargo ’m®ßå

dhåmnå svena sadå nirasta-kuhakaµ satyaµ paraµ dhîmahi

The Absolute Truth, the Personality of Godhead, is the only independent self-sufficient King of all living enti-ties. It is He only who enlightened the heart of Brahmå, who is the original poet and singer of the Vedic hymns. It is He only about whom all kinds of empiric scholars become bewildered at every moment. In Him only is the combination of the five elements earth, fire, water, air, and ether possible. And it is He alone who is recognized as the true source of the internal energy, the external energy, and the marginal energy.

Let us therefore pray for shelter under the lotus feet of Çrî K®ß√a, who is free from all illusions by dint of His own energy and who is the Absolute Truth. This Absolute Truth is ascertained as the fountainhead of pure knowledge in all the affairs of creation, maintenance, and annihilation. This is the only logical conclusion to be drawn after carefully understanding the subject directly or indirectly.

I Have One Doubt

Råmånanda Råya then petitioned the Lord,

eka saµçaya mora åchaye h®dayek®på kari’ kaha more tåhåra niçcaye

pahile dekhilu∫ tomåra sannyåsi-svarüpaebe tomå dekhi muñi çyåma-gopa-rüpa

tomåra sammukhe dekhi kåñcana-pañcålikåtå∫ra gaura-kåntye tomåra sarva a∫ga ∂håkå

tåhåte praka†a dekho∫ sa-vaµçî vadana nånå bhåve cañcala tåhe kamala-nayana

ei-mata tomå dekhi’ haya camatkåra akapa†e kaha, prabhu, kåra√a ihåra

My Lord, I have but one doubt within my heart, and I hope You will kindly remove it by Your grace. At first I saw You appear like a sannyåsî, but now I am seeing You as Çyåmasundara, the cowherd boy. I now see You appearing like a golden doll, and Your entire body appears covered by a golden luster. I see that You are holding a flute to Your mouth, and Your lotus eyes are moving very


restlessly due to various ecstasies. I actually see You in this way, and this is very wonderful. My Lord, please tell me without duplicity what is causing this

The Lord replied that those who are deeply absorbed in a loving relationship with K®ß√a are all first-class devotees. As a result of their natural love of Godhead, they realize the presence of their worshipful Lord Çrî K®ß√a everywhere, as they look upon all varieties of moving and nonmoving objects. The objects of their observation do not appear before them as they are, but they appear differently in relationship with Çrî K®ß√a. Here are some quotations in this regard from the Çrîmad Bhågavatam.

sarva-bhüteßu ya˙ paçyedbhagavad-bhåvam åtmana˙bhütåni bhagavaty åtmany

eßa bhågavatottama˙

The first-class devotee perceives everywhere the presence of Çrî K®ß√a, who is the life of all lives, and in Çrî K®ß√a they perceive the presence of all animate and inanimate objects. (Bhåg.11.2.45)

vana-latås tarava åtmani viß√uµvyañjayantya iva pußpa-phalå∂hyå˙pra√ata-bhåra-vi†apå madhu-dhårå˙

prema-h®ß†a-tanavo vav®ßu˙ sma

The jungle trees and creepers full with their fruits and flowers bowed before the Lord with feelings that Çrî K®ß√a is their vital life. In a mood of transcendental cheerfulness

and ecstatic joy, the trees and creepers poured forth large amounts of honey in His presence. This was possible due to their pure love of Godhead. (Bhåg. 10.35.9)

Lord Caitanya continued to speak:

rådhå-k®ß√e tomåra mahå-prema hayayåhå∫ tåhå∫ rådhå-k®ß√a tomåre sphuraya

You have deep regard for Rådhå and K®ß√a, and as such you can perceive Their presence anywhere and everywhere.

Råmånanda Råya was not, however, satisfied at heart with this answer given by Lord Caitanya, although the words of the Lord were certainly correct according to çåstra. Thus he said,

råya kahe—prabhu tumi chå∂a bhåri-bhürimora åge nija-rüpa nå kariha curi

rådhikåra bhåva-kånti kari’ angîkåranija-rasa åsvådite kariyåcha avatåra

nija-gü∂ha-kårya tomåra—prema åsvådana ånußa∫ge prema-maya kaile tribhuvana

åpane åile more karite uddhåraebe kapa†a kara—tomåra kona vyavahåra

My Lord, please give up this roundabout way of revealing Your true personality. Kindly do not try to hide Your real identity. I know who You are: You are Çrî K®ß√a Himself covered by the complexion of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. You have descended to relish the ecstasy of Your transcendental pastimes with Her. The main purpose of Your appearance


is to relish the feelings of Your devotees’ love for You and simultaneously to distribute that love throughout the three worlds. You have come to me out of Your own accord, so how is it that You want to hide Yourself now?

Lord Caitanya Revealed

At this, Lord Caitanya smiled and revealed Himself as Rasaråja, the King of all divine rasas, and also as His other Self, Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, who is Mahå-bhåva, love of Godhead personified. Then He revealed Himself in one form as the unity of the Divine Couple—Çrî K®ß√a appearing with the sentiment and color of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î.

rådhå k®ß√a-pra√aya-vik®tir hlådinî çaktir asmådekåtmånåv api bhuvi purå deha-bhedaµ gatau tau

caitanyåkhyaµ praka†am adhunå tad-dvayaµ caikyam åptaµ rådhå-bhåva-dyuti-suvalitaµ naumi k®ß√a-svarüpam

The loving affairs of Rådhå and K®ß√a are transcendental manifestations of the Lord’s internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Rådhå and K®ß√a are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental personalities have again united in the form of Çrî K®ß√a Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î although He is K®ß√a Himself.

Lord Caitanya revealed Himself as the one that is two and the two that are one. This is a most unique manifestation of the Absolute Truth. Only those who are fortunate enough to know Çrî K®ß√a Caitanya,

as well as Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a, by the grace of Råmånanda Råya, can serve the eternal forms that have united in one.

Råmånanda Råya fainted in ecstasy upon seeing the unique manifestation of the divine form of Lord Caitanya, and he became overwhelmed with transcendental emotion. In a swoon, he collapsed to the ground.

At that moment, Lord Caitanya touched the body of Råmånanda and brought him back to his external senses. Råmånanda was again astonished to see Lord Caitanya in the form of a sannyåsî. The Lord then embraced Råmånanda and pacified him by saying that other than Råmånanda Råya, nobody had ever seen that transcendentally combined form.

Lord Caitanya said that nothing is unknown to Råmånanda Råya about His pastimes, and as such He showed him the unique manifestation of His form.

gaura a∫ga nahe mora—rådhå∫ga-sparçanagopendra-suta vinå te∫ho nå sparçe anya-jana

tå∫ra bhåve bhåvita kari’ åtma-manatabe nija-mådhurya kari åsvådana

tomåra †håñi åmåra kichu gupta nåhi karma lukåile prema-bale jåna sarva-marma gupte råkhiha, kåhå∫ nå kario prakåça

åmåra båtula-ceß†å loke upahåsa åmi—eka båtula, tumi—dvitîya båtula ataeva tomåya åmåya ha-i sama-tula

O Råmånanda, I am not merely a person of fair complexion appearing before you. I am the selfsame personality Çrî K®ß√a and I eternally exhibit this form, which is imbued with the bodily hue of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. Nobody can


touch Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î except Çrî K®ß√a. Therefore I adorn Myself with the sentiments of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and thereby enjoy Myself. In this eternal form of Mine, I also relish the sweetness of Çrî K®ß√a. But please do not disclose this secret of mine! Ordinary men may laugh at Me in my mad attempt. In this matter, I am certainly the number one madman and you are number two. And as both of us are in the same category, there is no difference between yourself and Myself.

A Mine of Nectar

The Lord enjoyed the company of Råmånanda Råya while discussing about Çrî K®ß√a continuously for ten days. Those conversations that took place between Råmånanda Råya and Lord Caitanya were very, very confidential talks about Vraja-dhåma, the place where the transcendental pastimes of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î and Çrî K®ß√a are eternally manifest. In those conversations, the ecstasy that flows in Vraja-dhåma was thoroughly discussed. There were also many other talks between Råmånanda and Lord Caitanya, which are impossible for anyone to understand. In short, the whole topic was just like a mine of gemlike information, which produced one gem after another for the benefit of all humankind. The mine of that conversation is compared to an unfathomed, deep metallic reservoir. As the mine was being excavated, precious metals of different categories came out in the form of copper, bell metal, silver, gold, and lastly touchstone.

Precious metals were excavated both in the preliminary as well as the concluding discussions between Råmånanda Råya and Lord Caitanya. In the preliminary talks, In Search of the Ultimate Goal of Life, the idea of following the moral and social divisions of society

is compared to copper, the mother of metals. The idea of offering the results of one’s work to Çrî K®ß√a (karma-yoga) is compared to bell metal. The idea of renouncing the world and taking karma-sannyåsa is compared to silver. The idea of devotional service mixed with empiric speculative knowledge (jñåna-miçrå-bhakti) is compared to gold, and lastly, devotional service unmixed with any empiric knowledge (jñåna-çünya-bhakti) is compared to touchstone.

In the concluding discussions, the same comparison is made in regard to the different transcendental sentiments of devotional service. The conception of dåsya-prema is compared to copper, sakhya-prema to bell metal, våtsalya-prema to silver, and måd-hurya-prema to gold. And lastly the transcendental pastimes of Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a are compared to touchstone.

Entrance into the above-mentioned touchstone of jñåna-çünya-bhakti can be obtained by the persevering devotee who has the nec essary energy, fortitude, good association, and honesty of purpose. With all these qualifications, that touchstone is easily available.

The next day, Lord Caitanya asked permission from Råmånanda Råya to continue on His tour of South India. The Lord also requested him to follow His instruction, advising him as follows:

vißaya chå∂iyå tumi yåha nîlåcaleåmi tîrtha kari’ tå∫hå åsiba alpa-kåle

dui-jane nîlåcale rahiba eka-sa∫gesukhe go∫åiba kåla k®ß√a-kathå-ra∫ge

Please go to Nîlåcala (Jagannåtha Purî), resigning from your worldly activities. I will arrive there very shortly after finishing My tour. We will stay at Nîlåcala together and pass our time in great happiness by our talks about the transcendental pastimes of Rådhå and K®ß√a.


Saying this, Lord Caitanya embraced Råmånanda and sent him to his home, and then He Himself went to take rest for the night. The next morning, Lord Caitanya visited the local temple of Hanumån, paid His respects to the Deity, and then left to travel throughout South India.

During the presence of Lord Caitanya at Vidyånagara, the city where Råmånanda Råya lived, all the scholars of different schools of philosophy were converted into devotees of Çrî K®ß√a, and they gave up their previous ways of thinking. After the departure of Lord Caitanya, Råmånanda was overwhelmed with grief on account of separation from the Lord, and thus he remained aloof from all sorts of routine work while continuing to absorb himself in deep meditation on the Lord.

This is a short sketch of the meeting that took place between Råmånanda Råya and Çrî Caitanya Mahåprabhu. The instructive and transcendental topics that were discussed between them are completely sublime and simple at the same time. Any fortunate person can take advantage of the revelations within this conversa-tion and thus bring about the perfection of his life. Once the topic is heard with a reverential attitude, it will no longer be possible to leave aside the spiritual ambition of reaching the abode of Rådhå and K®ß√a.

By hearing this short narration, one can enter into the essence of transcendental romance and pure love of Godhead. The most important thing to understand from this discussion is the secret of Lord Caitanya’s appearance in this world and the essence of His sa∫kîrtana movement.

Faith

Only the faithful can enter into the intricacies of these topics, and faith is the basic principle for making progress in the supramental state of transcendental love in separation. The lîlå of Rådhå and K®ß√a is transcendental and confidential. One who has faith in Lord Caitanya and His recommended process for spiritual upliftment can enter into the confidential service of the Divine Couple, which is all-attractive for the pure devotees.

It must be understood that the talks between Lord Caitanya and Råmånanda Råya are not a creation of mental speculators who are not in the transcendental chain of disciplic succession and who are always doubtful about the Absolute Truth. No one, whose basic tendency is to engage in mundane arguments, can enter the precincts of these topics. They are above such a materialistic approach. Because the subject matter is supramundane, it is therefore not possible to understand it without having reached the supramental state.

No one need try to understand these transcendental topics by strenuous academic manipulation of the brain and mind, because both the mundane brain and mind are useless when attempting to reach this supramental state. Only service to Godhead and His agents can help one to experience the revelation of the truth. Mental speculation, which produces only pseudoresults, simply creates a disturbance.

The transcendental domain discussed by Çrî Råmånanda Råya and Lord Caitanya is solely the property of those faithful devotees of Çrî K®ß√a who have a record of service in devotional life.

Çrîla Prabhupåda-lîlå-smara√a-ma∫gala Stotram

1.jayare sva pårißada, çrîla svåmî prabhupåda

abhaya am®ta parå gatitomåra cara√a padma, dhüli mora çreya-sadma

tåhe mama nitya para√ati

All glories to His Divine Grace Çrîla A.C. Bhaktivedånta Svåmî Prabhupåda. He is always accompanied by his associate servitors, his internal nature is just like the sweetest nectar and externally he appears like fearlessness personified. I continually offer my full prostrate obeisances unto the dust of his lotus feet which are the all-auspicious shelter and goal of my life.

2.sat-jana vandita, mama cira våñchita

prabhupåda-padme sukha-sevåtava sevå parasåde, pürila se h®di sådhe

tava gu√a-çobhå mana-lobhå

The blissful service of the lotus feet of Çrîla Prabhupåda is glorified by the topmost saints and devotees. To obtain the unalloyed service of his lotus feet is the only cherishable goal of my life. That eternal desire is always being fulfilled by the nectar of His Divine Grace and therefore the beauty of his unlimited transcendental qualities continu-ally charms my heart. Now my dear devotees, please hear with great care and attention the narration of Çrîla Prabhupåda-lîlå-smara√a-ma∫gala Stotram, the transcendental qualities and pastimes of His Divine Grace, the topmost servant of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î .

108 A. C. Bhaktivedanta Svami Prabhupada

All glories to Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityånanda Prabhu along with Çrî Advaita Prabhu and all the devotees of Lord Caitanya, who are known as the gaura-bhaktas. Lord Caitanya, by the disc weapon of His exclusive mercy, delivered the inhabitants of South India, who were situated like elephants being attacked by the crocodiles of different religious sects. Thus Lord Caitanya converted them all to Vaißnavism and proceeded onward throughout South India, where He visited many, many holy places of pilgrimage.

3.çrî nandotsava-dine, nija sakhî-ga√a-sane

premånanda-nimagna çrî rådhesukha icchå parakåça, ∂åki nija priya dåsa

kahilena – “püra ei sådhe”

On the day when the grand festival of Çrî Nanda Mahåråja, celebrat-ing the birth of Lord K®ß√a was being held, Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î accompanied by Her sakhîs, who were all deeply absorbed in the bliss of k®ß√a-prema, called for one of Her dearmost servants. Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, the Absolute Queen of V®ndåvana, spoke thus revealing Her happy thoughts, “You must fulfill one desire of mine.”

4.åji çubha divasete, mama k®påçißå såthe

avatîr√e hao dhara√îteçrî kamalå-dhani tathå, tava gaura-sevå-kathå

pracårila bhavißya-vå√îte

On this auspicious day you must incarnate on the earth along with my blessings and spread K®ß√a consciousness in every town and vil-lage of the world. My very dear Çrî Kamalå (another name of Çrîla Bhaktivinoda ̌ håkura) has already announced your coming and she has also predicted your devotional service unto Lord Gaurå∫ga.

5.iß†a-devî-pade-nama, tabe he çrî k®ß√a-prema

e dharåra kro∂a dhanya-kareavatîr√a haile nåma, çuddha-bhakata-vaiß√ava

çrî gaura-mohana-parivåre

That unalloyed servant of Çrî K®ß√a (later to be known as A.C. Bhaktivedånta Svåmî Prabhupåda), who’s heart was filled with the most inconceivable love of Godhead, paying obeisances and offer-ing countless prayers at the lotus feet of the Supremely Worshipful Goddess of Fortune then appeared on the earth in the renowned Vaiß√ava family, headed by Çrî Gaura-mohana.

6 & 7.nija putra-tåre tini, parama kalyå√a ma√i

prårthanå karilå sneha bharehe vaiß√ava sådhu ga√a, kara k®på anukßana

mora prå√a ei putra-pare

mama putra e abhaya, yena rådhå-dåsa hayanitya-kåla seve rådhå-dhana

parama gaurava-bha∫ge, kîrtana karuka ra∫geta∫ra gu√a bhariyå bhuvana

Invoking the blessings of the Vaiß√ava sådhus upon his son, Gaura-mohana prayed to all of them with great sincerity, “O sådhus, O Vaiß√avas, please bestow your blessings upon this dear son of mine, who is my life and soul, so that he can become the servant of Çrîmati Rådhårå√î eternally serving Her, the Supreme wealth of life. Please bless him so that he can preach and sing Her qualities and glories in a most grand way, inundating the whole world.”

8.pare eka çubha-kåle, tvadîya karu√å bale

milila çrî gurudeva-såtheçrî viß√u-kira√a dyuti, sudivya karu√å-mürti-

rüpa tumi herilå tå∫håte

110 111

Afterwards, at an auspicious moment arranged by the grace of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, Çrîla Prabhupåda met his spiritual master (Çrîla Bhakti-siddhånta Sarasvatî ˇhåkura). He saw the divine grace of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î in his Gurudeva and understood him to be an effulgent ray of Viß√u—His Divine Grace personified.

9.bhaya-hîna pracåraka, bhakti sadåcåra dakßa

prabhu-vara se dayita dåsanija d®dha citta-mate, nåma dilå sva-çißyete

îça abhaya cara√a dåsa

That great divine master Çrî Vårßabhånavî-devî Dayita Dåsa (another name of Çrîla Bhaktisiddhånta Sarasvatî ˇhåkura, meaning the servant of the lover of Çrî Rådhå) who is expert at practicing pure devotional principles and who is a fearless preacher of the divine message of Godhead now conferred upon Çrîla Prabhupåda the name Abhaya Cara√åravinda according to his own firm self-confident char-acter. The meaning of that name is that he is the servitor of the lotus feet of the Supreme Personality of Godhead which are the abode of all fearlessness and hopes for the pure devotees.

10.rådhå-ku√∂a ta†å∫gane, ati antara∫ga sthåne

ela ta∫ra såndra premåveçagå∂ha anuråga-mane, sarva-åtma nivedane

måthe tule nija gurvådeça

In the most intimate place of the mådhurya pastimes, Çrî Rådhå-ku√∂a, Çrîla Prabhupåda experienced the full ecstasy of k®ß√a-prema. Whole-heartedly surrendering unto Çrîla Bhaktisiddhånta Sarasvatî

ˇhåkura with intense love Çrîla Prabhupåda received upon his head the most holy order of his Gurudeva, “If you ever get money print and distribute books.”

11.rüpa-sårasvatî-çrota, guru icchå-åjñåmata

premabhare kîrtana karitepradarçilå e jagata, sakala saubhågya yata

åse gara guru-niß†hå hate

By singing and preaching with great loving devotion that sublime message of his Gurudeva, which is pure devotional knowledge of the Rüpa-Sarasvatî (rüpånuga) stream, Çrîla Prabhupåda has shown to the world that all good fortune manifests from adherent devotional service unto the lotus feet of Çrî Guru.

12 & 13.çrî çrî rådhå-dåmodara, çrî jîvera mandira

prabhu-datta nija ku†îreteåra rüpa-samådhite, vraja-råga åveçete

bhajana karilå rasa-prîte

çuddha-bhakta-ratna-ma√i, rüpe nitya-kåla tinisethåya rahena viråjita

yethå rådhå-påda-sevå, dhari rasa-mürti-çobhanirantara hana prasphürtita

In the temple of Çrî Jîva Gosvåmî, namely Çrî Çrî Rådhå Dåmodara Mandira and Çrî Rüpa samådhi, in his rooms given by his divine masters, Çrîla Prabhupåda performed his bhajana in the loving

112 113

114 115

devotional mood of the vraja-gopîs. Çrîla Prabhupåda lives eternally in his place of bhajana as the precious gem among the pure devotees where the loving devotional service of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î constantly blooms personifying the beauty of divine ecstatic mellows.

14, 15 & 16.parama suh®da haye, gaura-prema-vå√î laye

påçcatya deçete åila yabebhåi bali çrî k®ßnere, sambodhiyå samådare

prårthanå karilå ei tabe

bhåi tava pu√ya habe, rådhårå√î khusî habedhruva ati bali tomå tåi

labhive se bhågya åra, yadi tumi khuçî karabhågya-devî-rüpa çrî rådhåi

çrî siddhånta sarasvatî, rüpa dhari se çrîmatîmore åjñå dilå pracårite

se icchå pür√a kara, åmåra vacana dharotabe påri tå∫håre sevite

Leaving behind the sacred land of V®ndåvana and taking a great risk in his old age, Çrîla Prabhupåda came to the western world as our ever well-wisher carrying with him the message of gaura-prema, love for Lord Gaurå∫ga,. Upon his arrival he earnestly prayed to Lord K®ß√a addressing Him as ‘bhåi’ (O brother) in an intense loving way.

“O dear brother, my dear intimate friend! I tell You this in a most definite way. You can achieve some invaluable merits by pleasing Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î. You (Lord K®ß√a) can really attain even more good fortune if You can now please Her, the Supreme God-dess of all good fortunes. Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î Herself in the form of

Çrîla Bhaktisiddhånta Sarasvatî ˇhåkura ordered me to preach Her message. Therefore, please take my word and advice and fulfill Her desire; then only can I attain success and serve my guru fully.”

17 & 18.atula saubhågya-khani, tå∫ra ei divya-vå√î

çrî nåma çrî çacî-putråçrayeçrî svarüpa sanåtana, rüpa-prabhu guru-ga√a

sabe mahå k®pånvita haye

åmå-bhakta sabåkåre, dena praveçådhikåreçrî rådhå-sevikå-ga√-å∫gane

v®ndåvana-govardhane, kabhu rådhå-ku√∂a-påneparama abhiß†a siddhi dåne

The mine of incomparable good fortune is the message of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedånta Svåmî Prabhupåda, “If someone takes shelter of k®ß√a-nåma, and Lord Caitanya Mahåprabhu, the son of Mother Çacî, along with their dear associates, Çrî Svarüpa Dåmodara, Sanåtana Gosvåmî, and Çrî Rüpa Gosvåmî, They being greatly pleased with such a person bestow upon him entrance into the embrace of the dear associate servitors of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î at Govardhana, V®ndåvana, and sometimes at Çrî Rådhå-ku√∂a—blessing them with the supreme fulfillment of the ultimate goal of k®ß√a-prema.”

19.çrî rådhikå priya∫karî, çrî kårttîka-måsa bari

giriråja h®dayete smariti∫ho apraka†a haila, nitya-lîlå praveçila

råje yetå rådhå-sa∫ge hari

116 117

Completing his missionary activities in the western world, Çrîla Prabhupåda returned to V®ndåvana. Accepting the month of Kårttika, which is non-different from Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î, bearing Giriråja Govardhana in mind and embracing the lotus feet of his most wor-shipful Lord in the core of his heart, Çrîla Prabhupåda made his disappearance from this world and entered the nitya-lîlå, the eternal loving pastimes of Goloka where Lord Govinda is always effulgently present with His dearmost Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î.

20.ei panthå pradarçane, çikßå dilå amarga√e

kon vastu-siddhi lakßya haiyakari våsa govardhane, dainya åtma-nivedane

labha çrî rådhikå-ga√åsraya

By showing us his disappearance from this world in the month of Kårttika, and by revealing his desire to go to Govardhana Hill, Çrîla Prabhupåda has thus shown us the path which leads to the fulfill-ment of the ultimate aim and object of life, that is to obtain supreme shelter in the camp of Çrîmatî Rådhårå√î’s associate-servants with humble self surrender, residing always at Çrî Govardhana.

21.kabe tåna apråk®ta, bhåva-gu√a-vibhüßita

jîvana-caritra-madhurimåsatya kari e våstave, åmåri sampada habe

e jîvane dåni sukha sîmå

When will that day be mine, in some distant lifetime, when the beauty of Çrîla Prabhupåda’s transcendental life, possessed by the qualities of pure love for Çrî Çrî Rådhå-K®ß√a actually become my only wealth giving me a taste of the highest happiness? O when will that day be mine?

22 & 23.sakala h®daya diye, sutîvra åkå∫khå laiye

se åçe rahi mui hînakabe sei bhågya habe, e jîvana dhanya habe

kabe mor åsibe se dinaprå√abari pratiß†håne, tå∫ri k®på-çaktyådhåne

labhi eka-niß†ha tanu-manae dîna sevaka tå∫ra, gu√a-gåtha-sambhåra

kari yåbe satata kîrtana

Let us always pray to remain the humble and obedient servants of Çrîla Prabhupåda. With a burning heart, filled with an intense longing for his association, this poor and lowly insignificant beggar humbly prays for that fortunate day when the life of his servant will be em-powered by His Divine Grace with firm determination so that I may with one pointedness, not caring for anything else, constantly sing with my body and mind the sweetest glories of Çrîla Prabhupåda’s unlimited transcendental qualities and pastimes.

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Verse Indexab sohi viråga, tu∫hu bheli dütî 69adyåpi ca muni-çreß†hå brahmådyå api devatå˙ 89aher iva gati˙ prem√a˙ 47åji çubha divasete 110åjñåyaivaµ gu√ån doßån 15åmå-bhakta sabåkåre 115åmi—eka båtula, tumi—dvitîya båtula 103ånanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhåvitåbhis 64ananta vaiku√†ha, åra ananta avatåra 58anayårådhito nünaµ 43antaryåmî îçvarera ei rîti haye 97anugrahåya bhütånåµ 94åpane åile more karite uddhåra 101åsåm aho cara√a-re√u-jußåm ahaµ syåµ 95åståµ vairågya-ko†ir bhavatu 92ata åtyantikaµ kßemaµ 94atula saubhågya-khani 115bhåi tava pu√ya habe 114bhaje çveta-dvîpaµ tam aham iha golokam iti yaµ 59bhaya-hîna pracåraka 112bråhma√ånåµ sahasrebhya˙ satra-yåjî viçißyate 90brahma-bhüta˙ prasannåtmå 18curi kari’ rådhåke nila gopî-ga√era ∂are 44daça dinera kå-kathå yåvat åmi jîba’ 85dui-jane nîlåcale rahiba eka-sa∫ge 105e sakhi, se-saba prema-kåhinî 69ebe se jånilu∫ sådhya-sådhana-nir√aya 48ei panthå pradarçane 116ei-mata tomå dekhi’ haya camatkåra 99eka saµçaya mora åchaye h®daye 99eta tattva mora citte kaile prakåçana 97

120 121

etåvån eva loke ’smin 96gaura a∫ga nahe mora—rådhå∫ga-sparçana 103gupte råkhiha, kåhå∫ nå kario prakåça 103h®daye prera√a kara, jihvåya kahåo vå√î 50îçvara˙ parama˙ k®ß√a˙ 58iß†a-devî-pade-nama 110itas-tatas tåm anus®tya rådhikåm 45itthaµ satåµ brahma-sukhånubhütyå 26janmådy asya yato ’nvayåd 98janmåntara-sahasreßu 89jayare sva pårißada 109jñåne prayåsam udapåsya namanta eva 19k®på kari’ ei tattva kaha ta’ åmåre 48k®ß√a-bhakti-rasa-bhåvitå mati˙ 23k®ß√era svarüpa’ kaha ‘rådhåra svarüpa’ 48kå k®ß√asya pra√aya-janibhü˙ çrîmatî rådhikaikåkåsya 67kaµsårir api saµsåra 44kabe tåna apråk®ta 116kalau bhågavataµ nåma 88kathå gånaµ nå†yaµ gamanam api vaµçî priya-sakhî 59kibå vipra, kibå nyåsî, çüdra kene naya 51kim alabhyaµ bhagavati 93måm anårådhya du˙khårta˙ 93mama putra e abhaya 111mayi bhaktir hi bhütånåm 33mora jihvå—vî√å-yantra, tumi—vî√å-dhårî 58mora mukhe vaktå tumi, tumi hao çrotå 72more k®på karite tomåra ihå∫ ågamana 84muktånåm api siddhånåµ xi, 94nå kho∫jalu∫ dütî, nå kho∫jalu∫ ån 69na påraye ‘haµ niravadya-saµyujåµ 39nå so rama√a, nå håma rama√î 69

na tathå me priyatamo 91nanda˙ kim akarod brahman 27nånopacåra-k®ta-püjanam årta-bandho˙ 23nåyaµ çriyo ‘∫ga u nitånta-rate˙ prasåda˙ 30nåyaµ sukhåpo bhagavån 81nemaµ viriñco na bhavo 27nibh®ta-marun-mano ‘kßa-d®∂ha-yoga-yujo h®di yan 80nija putra-tåre tini 111nija-gü∂ha-kårya tomåra—prema åsvådana 101nîlåcale tumi-åmi thåkiba eka-sa∫ge 85pahile dekhilu∫ tomåra sannyåsi-svarüpa 99pahilehi råga nayana-bha∫ge bhela 69parama îçvara k®ß√a—svayaµ bhagavån 58parama suh®da haye 114pare eka çubha-kåle 111prå√abari pratiß†håne 117prabhu kahe—‘sådhya-vastura avadhi’ ei haya 72prabhu kahe—“eho uttama, åge kaha åra” 29prabhu kahe—åge kaha, çunite påi sukhe 43prabhu kahe—åilå∫a çuni’ tomåra gu√a 85prabhu kahe—eho haya, åge kaha åra 69prabhu kahe—jånilu∫ k®ß√a-rådhå-prema-tattva 68prabhu kahe—måyåvådî åmi ta’ sannyåsî 51prabhu kahe—ye lågi’ åilåma tomå-sthånes 48premaiva gopa-råmå√åµ 76premera ‘svarüpa-deha’—prema-vibhåvita 64rådhå k®ß√a-pra√aya-vik®tir hlådinî çaktir asmåd 102rådhå-k®ß√a-kuñjasevå-sådhya sei påya 73rådhå-k®ß√e tomåra mahå-prema haya 101rådhå-k®ß√era lîlå ei ati gü∂hatara 72rådhå-ku√∂a ta†å∫gane 112rådhåyå bhavataç ca citta-jatunî 70

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rådhikåra bhåva-kånti kari’ angîkåra 101råya kahe—“sakhya-prema—sarva-sådhya-såra” 25råya kahe—åmi—na†a, tumi—sütra-dhåra 58råya kahe—ihå åmi kichui nå jåni 50råya kahe—prabhu tumi chå∂a bhåri-bhüri 101råya kahe—yei kahåo, sei kahi vå√î 72rüpa-sårasvatî-çrota 113sa yatra kßîråbdhi˙ sravati surabhîbhyaç ca sumahån 59sabe eka sakhî-ga√era ihå∫ adhikåra 72sac-cid-ånanda-tanu, vrajendra-nandana 58sådhya-vastu ‘sådhana’ vinu keha nåhi påya 72sakala h®daya diye 117sakhî vinå ei lîlå puß†a nåhi haya 72sakhî vinå ei lîlåya anyera nåhi gati 73sakhya˙ çrî-rådhikåyå vraja 75sannyåsî baliyå more nå kariha vañcana 51sårvabhauma-sa∫ge mora mana nirmala haila 51sarva-bhüteßu ya˙ paçyed 100sarva-dharmån parityajya 16sat-jana vandita 109ßaß†i-varßa-sahasrå√i 91çikßå-guruke ta’ jåni k®ß√era svarüpa 55çrî çrî rådhå-dåmodara 113çrî nandotsava-dine 110çrî rådhikå priya∫karî 115çrî siddhånta sarasvatî 114çriya˙ kåntå˙ kånta˙ parama-purußa˙ kalpa-taravo 59çuddha-bhakta-ratna-ma√i 113sva-dharmåcara√e viß√u-bhakti haya 1sva-jivanådhikaµ prårthyaµ 93sve sve karma√y abhirata˙ 8tå∫ra bhåve bhåvita kari’ åtma-mana 103

tad viddhi pra√ipåtena 49tåhåte praka†a dekho∫ sa-vaµçî vadana 99tåsåm åvirabhüc chauri˙ 31tasmåd ekena manaså 95tasmåt sarvåtmanå råjan 95tatråtiçuçubhe tåbhir 39tayor apy ubhayor madhye 63te∫ho kahe—åmi nåhi jåni k®ß√a-kathå 51tomå vinå anya nåhi jîva uddhårite 84tomåra †håñi åilå∫a tomåra mahimå 51tomåra †håñi åmåra kichu gupta nåhi karma 103tomåra çikßåya pa∂i yena çuka-på†ha 50tomåra sammukhe dekhi kåñcana-pañcålikå 99tribhuvana-madhye aiche haya kon dhîra 72v®ndåvane ‘apråk®ta navîna madana’ 58våcå sücita-çarvarî-rati-kalå-prågalbhyayå rådhikåµ 68vana-latås tarava åtmani viß√uµ 100var√åçramåcåravatå puruße√a para˙ pumån 1vibhur api sukha-rüpa˙ sva-prakåço ‘pi bhåva˙ 74vikrî∂itaµ vraja-vadhübhir idaµ ca viß√o˙ 96vißaya chå∂iyå tumi yåha nîlåcale 105yå∫ra sadgu√a-ga√ane k®ß√a nå påya påra 67yå∫ra saubhågya-gu√a våñche satyabhåmå 67yå∫ra saundaryådi-gu√a våñche lakßmî-pårvatî 67yaiche çunilu∫, taiche dekhilu∫ tomåra mahimå 85yånti deva-vratå devån 35yasya yal-lakßa√aµ proktaµ 53yat karoßi yad açnåsi 10yat te sujåta-cara√åmburuhaµ staneßu 79yata˙ prav®ttir bhütånåµ 8yathå rådhå priyå viß√os 42ye yathå måµ prapadyante 34

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